The Maldivian government on Saturday suspended the search for the bodies of four Italian divers after a Maldives National Defense Force diver died during the rescue mission.
Five Italian divers died Thursday in an underwater cave located around 50 meters deep. One of the divers’ bodies was found.
The limit for recreational diving in the Maldives is 30 meters.
Maldives NDF diver Mohamed Mahudhee has died following an underwater decompression accident after being transferred to hospital in the capital.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, Maldives presidential spokesperson, announced the suspension of the rescue mission, adding that the search strategy will be reviewed after the arrival of three Finnish deep diving experts in the country.
Shareef said, “Mahudhee’s death shows the difficulty of the mission. » The soldiers will be buried with military honors on Saturday. President Mohamed Muizzu will also attend the funeral of the martyr.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered its condolences to the Maldives over the death of Mahudhee. He said about eight local divers were working in shifts Saturday to search for the bodies.
The first teams had already dove to identify and mark the entrance to the cave system where the Italians had disappeared.
Who were the Italian divers?
The victims were identified as experienced divers, including:
- Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa
- Giorgia Sommacal, Monica’s daughter
- Federico Gualtieri, marine biologist
- Muriel Oddenino, researcher
- Gianluca Benedetti, diving instructor
Benedetti’s body was found Thursday. The Italian Foreign Minister has pledged to do everything in his power to repatriate the bodies of the victims.
