Finnish Divers Recover Final Bodies of Italian Tourists from Maldives Cave

An elite squad of Finnish divers recovered the final two bodies of Italian tourists trapped in a shark-infested underwater cave in the Maldives on Wednesday. The bodies of Giorgia Sommacal, 22, and researcher Muriel Oddenino, 31, were brought to the surface from the Vaavu Atoll cave at a depth of 200 feet. The recoveries occurred six days after the group disappeared.

Divers used advanced technical systems including closed-circuit rebreathers that recycle exhaled breathing gas and remove carbon dioxide through a chemical scrubber. The equipment allowed for longer dives, according to a spokesperson for the Divers’ Alert Network Europe.

The bodies were found within the cave’s third segment on Monday after recovery operations restarted following the death of a military diver. Autopsies have not yet been carried out, and the remains are expected to be transported to a morgue in the Maldives capital, Male.

Last week, the remains of diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, 44, were recovered on Friday near the cave’s entrance. The group was among 25 Italian tourists on board the Duke of York boat before they vanished during the expedition. m. last Thursday. Concerns grew when the divers failed to return an hour later.

Micheletto suggested oxygen toxicity may have been a contributing factor. “Death from oxygen toxicity, or hyperoxia, is one of the most dramatic deaths that can occur during a dive — a horrible end,” he told the Italian outlet Adnkronos. Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, noted that conditions underwater could cause panic and lead to fatal mistakes.

“Inside a cave at a depth of 50 meters, all it takes is a problem for a diver or a panic attack for a diver,” he told the outlet. Authorities are investigating what caused the experienced group’s deaths.