Bodies Of Four Missing Italian Divers Found In Undersea Maldives Cave

Three Finnish experts from the Divers Alert Network, an international dive safety group, were also involved.

“The bodies of four missing divers have been located inside the Vaavu Atoll cave during a joint search and recovery operation,” the MNDF said in a statement.

The foreign ministry in Rome also confirmed that the bodies of the four missing Italians had been located.

The MNDF said further dives will be “carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies”.

Chief Government Spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef told AFP that the four bodies were found in a cave that was much bigger and deeper than first thought.

“They were all found pretty much together in the third segment of the cave, which is bigger than what we initially thought,” Shareef said.

“The plan is to recover two of the bodies tomorrow and the other two possibly the day after,” he said.

The cave was at a depth of about 60 metres (195 feet). Tourists visiting the upmarket holiday destination are allowed to dive to a maximum depth of 30 metres.

Italy’s University of Genoa said the victims included a marine biology professor, her daughter, and two young researchers.

The Maldives has suspended the operating licence of the luxury vessel from which the Italians had been diving and launched an investigation to determine whether safety regulations had been breached.

Tourism is a key source of revenue for the low-lying Maldives, a nation of 1,192 small coral islands and atolls scattered some 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator in the Indian Ocean.

Its pristine beaches, clear turquoise waters and coral reefs attract divers and snorkellers from around the world, who often stay at secluded resorts or on live-aboard dive boats.

Several fatalities have been reported in recent years, but diving and water sports-related accidents remain relatively rare.