Five Italian nationals, including a marine biology professor and her 20-year-old daughter, died during a scuba diving expedition in the Maldives after entering an underwater cave system 50 meters deep, authorities said.
As of Friday, recovery operations were ongoing, hampered by poor weather that complicated efforts to retrieve the divers. The husband of the professor and father of two of the victims expressed disbelief, stating that “something must have happened down there,” since his wife was an experienced diver who wouldn’t have taken dangerous risks.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry reported that the divers died Thursday during an excursion in the Vaavu Atoll, located southeast of the Maldivian capital, Malé.
Among those identified were Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, and her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, according to statements from the university and Italian officials. The university also named Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri among the deceased. Diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti was also reported dead.
Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday. Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef said eight divers took part in Friday’s search and, working in pairs, explored the depths and drew up a map to continue the mission on Saturday.
He said Benedetti’s body was found near the mouth of the cave and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.
According to the ministry, the group was attempting to explore caves when the incident took place. Maldivian authorities are still working to reconstruct the sequence of events.
The map indicated the divers’ last known position in a dark blue channel between shallow turquoise reef formations and sandbanks near the Miyaru Kandu dive site, a popular spot southeast of Malé. Labels identified nearby reef structures and dive locations.
The University of Genoa posted a statement on X expressing its "deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic passing" of Montefalcone, Sommacal, Oddenino, and Gualtieri.
Italian Universities Minister Anna Maria Bernini said the tragedy had deeply shaken the country’s academic community.
On Friday, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said rescue vessels from the Maldivian Coast Guard had reached the incident site, with divers from the Coast Guard, local police, and an Italian diving expert participating in recovery operations. Authorities warned that worsening weather could delay further dives into the cave system.
The ministry added that around 20 Italian nationals aboard the diving vessel Duke of York were uninjured and are receiving consular assistance.
The Italian Embassy in Colombo is working with the Maldives Red Crescent and Divers Alert Network to provide psychological support, technical assistance, and assistance with repatriating the victims' bodies.
“The only certainty I have is that my wife is among the best divers on the face of the earth,” Sommacal said. “And that she’s always been conscientious. Never would she have endangered the life of our daughter.”
Sommacal said his wife had completed thousands of dives and suggested there may have been a technical problem or an emergency inside the cave system. He said his wife survived the 2004 tsunami while diving off Kenya, resurfacing with other experienced divers despite the danger, and later returned to diving after a lengthy recovery from serious health complications. “She had two lives — one on land and one in her environment, the water,” he said.
The Maldives National Defense Force said search operations were conducted by sea and air after receiving a report of missing divers on Thursday afternoon. Italian authorities said an exploratory dive would be planned once conditions improve.
The cause of the deaths remained under investigation. The recovery operation is expected to resume on Saturday.