Mahudhy, who died during MNDF's rescue dive, buried following funeral with military honors

A military funeral has been held for Mohamed Mahudhy, a dedicated military diver who tragically lost his life on Saturday afternoon during a rescue operation to locate four missing Italian tourists.

The funeral prayer was held at 10:00pm at the Islamic Centre on Saturday night, which was attended by senior military officials, a large number of service personnel, high-ranking government representatives, and members of the public. Among those present were Foreign Minister Irthisham Adam and the Italian Ambassador to the Maldives Damiano Francovigh.

Following the funeral prayer, Mahudhy’s body was transported to Machangolhi Cemetery for burial. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu visited the cemetery to pay his final respects as the burial was carried out with military honors before a large gathering of mourners.

In recognition of his service and ultimate sacrifice, Mahudhy was posthumously promoted to the rank of 'Sergeant First Class' prior to the funeral.

Commenting on the incident, the government’s spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu) told the BBC that a total of eight divers had participated in the rescue operation earlier on Saturday. He added that Mahudhy was discovered missing when he failed to resurface.

Fellow divers immediately launched a search during which they located Mahudhy unconscious underwater. He was subsequently transported to Malé and taken to ADK Hospital for emergency treatment. However, the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) confirmed that he died shortly after he was taken to the hospital.