The scuba diving world has been rocked by the deaths of five Italian scuba divers in a cave in Vaavu Atoll, Maldives.
According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the divers died ‘while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres’ near the island of Alimathaa, around 100km (62 miles) south of the capital Malé.
Four of the divers have been identified as part of a team from the University of Genoa, including professor of ecology Monica Montefalcone, and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal.
The two other team members have been identified as research fellow Muriel Oddenino and marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri, while the fifth diver is believed to be dive instructor and boat operations manager Gianluca Benedetti.
Ms Montefalcone is described as ‘a familiar face on television’ by the Italian media, as the scientific director of the ‘Mare Caldo‘ project, which monitors the effects of warming seas on Italian marine habitats.
She is also reported to be a co-ordinator for research activities on Maldives reefs, although the exploratory cave dive is not believed to be related to an official university research project.
The team were diving from the luxury liveaboard Duke of York when the incident occurred. Local reports say the divers entered the water on Thursday morning but were reported missing after they failed to surface.
A spokesperson for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said that a distress call was received at 1.45 pm at the Maldivian Coast Guard’s maritime coordination centre.
The MNDF said one body was later recovered inside the cave system at approximately 60 metres, with the remaining four divers believed to be in the same area.
‘A body was found at 6.13 pm among the five divers who had dived in Vaavu Atoll,’ the MNDF spokesperson said.
‘The body was found inside a cave, and the other four divers are believed to be in the same cave, which extends to a depth of approximately 60m.’
Police said weather conditions were poor in the area at the time, with a yellow warning issued for boats and fishers hampering the search and rescue efforts.
Alimathaa Island is a popular dive spot, well known for ‘channel diving’, where strong tidal currents forced between neighbouring islands create perfect conditions for reef sharks and large pelagic fish to school and feed in the nutrient-rich waters.
The caves around the island are not the same structures as the inland karst tunnels or cenotes popular with cave divers, but rather a series of complex tunnels through the coral reef, which can become dangerous when faced with strong currents.
As of the time of publication of this article (11 am, Friday 15 May), no information has been given about the precise cause of the fatalities, although some media reports have made references to oxygen toxicity and gas mixture problems.
It must be stressed, however, that these are entirely speculative, possibly the result of an article in the Italian press which listed them among several ‘hypotheses floated by experts’.
Maldives police have already begun their investigations into the incident, which has been described by some as the ‘worst single diving accident in Maldives diving history’.
In a statement posted on social media, a spokesperson for the University of Genoa ‘expresses its deepest condolences for the tragic death of Professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, Dr Muriel Oddenino and Dr Federico Gualtieri.’
Update 18 May: the bodies of the missing divers have been located
Update 19 May: two of the divers have been recovered
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