Bodies Of Italian Divers Who Went Missing In Maldives' Deep-Sea Cave Recovered

Last Updated:May 18, 2026, 16:43 IST

Italy says bodies of four missing Italian divers recovered in Maldives Vaavu Atoll, total of five divers and one rescue diver died in worst diving accident in nation history.

The bodies of four Italian divers, who went missing while exploring a deep underwater cave system in Maldives’ Vaavu Atoll last week, have been recovered, Italy’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

A group of five divers lost their lives while exploring a deep underwater cave system in the Vaavu Atoll in what authorities are describing as the worst diving accident in the island nation’s history. The divers are believed to have succumbed to oxygen toxicity after diving down to extreme depths.

While searching for the bodies, a rescue diver died on Saturday and body of one of the divers was found after the incident on Thursday. The Maldivian diver was identified as Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian national defence force. She reportedly suffered underwater decompression sickness while attempting to recover the bodies of four Italian divers.

The Italian divers were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.

Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said. However, the university stated the scuba diving activity was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately."

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