6 divers’ death: Operation concluded in three-hour last dive aimed at scene clean-up

Divers Alert Network (DAN) Europe, on Thursday night, announced the conclusion of the underwater operational phase of the international search and recovery mission conducted Dhekunu Kandu dive site near V. Alimathaa where five Italian tourists who went diving last Thursday had gone missing.

Five Italian tourists were reported missing at around 01:45 pm Thursday after going on a scuba diving trip to Dhekunu Kandu, a 200-meter-long underwater cave system located near V. Alimatha.

The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, a marine biology professor connected to the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.

The body of Benedetti was found at around 06:13pm Thursday, from 60 meters underwater, inside the cave.

The MNDF had continued to conduct recovery dives, before suspending the mission on Saturday, after Coast Guard’s Sergeant First Class Mohamed Mahudhy died during one of the dives. The operation resumed on Monday with a team of three Finnish technical diving experts, one of whom is a cave diving specialist, led by DAN Europe. 

On the same day, the Finnish team located four bodies close together inside the innermost chamber of the cave, its deepest section at a depth of approximately 60 meters. Under Maldivian law, recreational diving is restricted to a maximum depth of 30 meters. 

Two bodies were recovered on Tuesday, followed by the remaining two on Wednesday.

In a statement on Thursday night, DAN confirmed the conclusion of the underwater operational phase of the international search and recovery mission.

DAN stated that the final in-water intervention was carried out by a Finnish specialist rescue team coordinated by DAN Europe, in close collaboration with surface support teams and in coordination with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), the Maldivian Coast Guard, Police diving units, and Italian authorities in Malé.

According to DAN, weather and sea conditions during the operation were more challenging than in previous days, with strong winds, surface currents, and a slight increase in decompression complexity. As a result, the dive commenced approximately one hour and 30 minutes later than originally scheduled. The operation involved around 50 minutes of work inside the cave during a dive lasting approximately three hours.

The objectives of Thursday’s dive included cleaning up the scene by removing temporary guide lines, operational references, and equipment that had been placed inside the cave system during the recovery phase. The mission also involved verifying and recovering additional items remaining at the site that could be relevant to the ongoing investigation.

“All recovered material, including equipment belonging to victims, rescuers, and previous operational teams, were handed over to the Maldivian Police and formally seized as part of the ongoing investigation,” DAN said.

DAN emphasized that the operation was conducted in accordance with established technical and cave diving procedures, with clearly assigned operational roles covering recovery work, safety support, and documentation. The organisation noted that the team utilised closed-circuit rebreathers (CCR), diver propulsion vehicles (DPVs), and redundant systems specifically designed for deep overhead environments. According to DAN, these technologies enabled divers to operate safely for extended periods inside the cave while optimising decompression, mobility, and overall safety.

DAN also expressed gratitude to all individuals, institutions, and operational teams involved in facilitating the highly complex international mission.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, DAN Europe's CEO Laura Marroni provided insights into the ongoing investigation, suggesting that the divers likely became disoriented due to a mound of silt and sand within the cave.

According to the report, the divers were able to enter the cave by passing over a sandbank formed by swirling currents near the entrance. However, the perspective from inside the cave looking outward was reportedly significantly different. During their attempted return, the same sandbank would have appeared as a solid and impassable wall.

It is believed that this visual obstruction concealed the actual exit, causing the divers to mistakenly enter a separate smooth-floored corridor located to the left. The passage reportedly led to a dead end with no alternative exit.

Marroni further stated that the bodies of the divers were ultimately discovered within this misleading corridor.