The bodies of the remaining two Italian divers who went missing while exploring an underwater cave at the famous “Miyaru Dive” site in Vaavu Atoll have now been recovered, bringing the search and recovery operation to an end.
Two other bodies had already been recovered from the site a day earlier. Authorities have now retrieved all victims involved in the tragic diving incident.
The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said the bodies were located during a recovery operation carried out on Monday with the assistance of foreign diving specialists. According to the MNDF, the divers were found inside the same underwater cave system where they had gone missing while diving.
The final two bodies were recovered six days after the group disappeared inside the cave.
Government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef told local media that the recovered bodies were transported to Malé and taken to the Galolhu mortuary. He also thanked the international recovery team, the local companies that assisted in the mission, and the MNDF Coast Guard for their efforts throughout the operation.
“The search and recovery operation has now concluded,” he said.
Authorities added that arrangements would now be made by the Italian government to repatriate the bodies to Italy.
The incident occurred last Thursday when four Italian divers and their instructor went missing while exploring a cave beneath the waters of Vaavu Atoll. During the search, the instructor was located inside the cave at a depth of around 60 meters (197 feet), while the remaining divers were believed to have been trapped deeper within the cave system at depths nearing 200 feet.
The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, 52; her daughter Giorgia Somacal, 20; Muriel Odenino, 31; Gianluca Benedetti, 44; and Federico Gualtieri, 31.
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Further updates are expected.
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