Five tourists die on Maldives scuba diving trip as police launch investigation

Five Italian tourists have died in a tragic scuba accident in the Maldives as they attempted to explore caves during a dive, the foreign ministry in Rome has said.

Monica Montefalcone, a professor at the University of Genoa, as well as Giorgia Sommacal, her 20-year-old daughter, died after they vanished in the waters of Vaavu Atoll.

Muriel Oddenino, from Turin, Gianluca Benedetti of Padua, and Federico Gualtieri from Borgomanero also passed away after they failed to resurface from the dive.

The Maldives' military confirmed that one body had been found in a cave roughly 60m underwater, while the other four divers are also said to have been discovered there.

The tourists entered the water on Thursday morning after diving off a vessel. It was that boat which reported the five Italians missing when they failed to resurface from the dive.

Fulidhoo Island in Vaavu Atoll, Maldives (Getty Stock Photo)

Officials have said the area where the tourists were diving, which is roughly 60 miles south of the Maldives capital Malé, was experiencing volatile weather at the time, with strong winds of up to 30mph.

It remains unclear at this time whether the conditions played a part in the tragedy.

In a statement, the foreign ministry in Rome said: "Following an accident during a scuba diving excursion, five Italian nationals have died in the Vaavu Atoll, Maldives. The divers are reported to have died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres. The reconstruction of the incident is still underway by the Maldivian authorities.

"The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Embassy of Italy in Colombo have been closely monitoring the case since the first notification. The Embassy is in contact with the victims’ families in order to provide all necessary consular assistance."

Gianluca Benedetti died during the scuba trip (Albatros Top Boat)

Four of the divers formed a University of Genoa team, with the university paying their respects.

They said: "The University of Genoa expresses its deep sorrow for the sudden and tragic death of Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of Ecology at the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences - DISTAV, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, a UniGe student in Biomedical Engineering, Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow at DISTAV, and Federico Gualtieri, a recent UniGe graduate in Marine Biology and Ecology.

"The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey."

An investigation into the tourists' deaths is underway in what is being described as the single worst diving accident in the Maldives.