Maldivian Soldier and Five Italian Divers Die in Vaavu Atoll Cave Search and Accident

A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the bodies of five Italian divers who disappeared two days earlier inside an underwater cave in Vaavu Atoll. Mohamed Mahudhee, a sergeant major in the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital, Maldives Presidential Spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef said.

Mahudhee had been part of the group that briefed President Mohamed Muizzu on the rescue plan when the president visited the search site Friday.

"The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission," Shareef said. The five Italians are believed to have died while exploring the cave at a depth of about 50 meters on Thursday. That is well beyond the Maldives' recreational diving limit of 30 meters.

Benedetti’s body was recovered Thursday near the mouth of the cave, Shareef said, while authorities believe the other four entered deeper inside. The victims were identified by the Maldivian government as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal; Federico Gualtieri, a recent graduate from Borgomanero; Muriel Oddenino of Turin; and Gianluca Benedetti of Padua, a diving instructor.

Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said.

The scuba diving activity was not part of the planned research and was undertaken privately. Student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri were not involved in the scientific mission. Rough weather hampered rescue efforts from the start.

Police said conditions were rough in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday with a yellow warning in place for passenger boats and fishermen. Search missions were called off Friday because of bad weather. Aircraft and speedboats were deployed for a major search after the group was reported missing Thursday afternoon, the Maldives National Defence Force said.