Recovery of Bodies in Maldives Cave
The bodies of two Italians who drowned in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been recovered from an underwater cave, local officials confirmed to the BBC.
"They were retrieved from the third chamber of the underwater cave by the specialist divers from Finland after a two-hour operation," Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, told the BBC.
The two bodies are being transported to the capital, Male, for identification purposes. These individuals were among five people who died in the incident, with two bodies still remaining inside the cave.
Details of the Incident and Recovery Efforts
The first body recovered was that of an Italian diver, a member of the group, found shortly after the accident on Thursday near Vaavu Atoll. Italian media identified him as Gianluca Benedetti, a boat operations manager and diving instructor.
On Saturday, a Maldivian rescue diver lost his life during the search for the missing bodies. The four missing divers were eventually located by Finnish divers on Monday in the chamber of the cave furthest from the entrance. The cave, locally known as "shark cave," reaches depths of up to 60 meters (197 feet).
The operation to recover the remaining two bodies is scheduled to resume on Wednesday. A Maldivian official expressed hope that the bodies would be retrieved the same day.
Challenges and Context of the Recovery Operation
Locating the bodies is expected to provide insights into the cause of the accident. The recovery mission has been described as complex due to the cave's depth, limited space, and poor visibility. The cave entrance lies at a depth of 47 meters, with various chambers at differing depths.
At the time of the dive on Thursday, weather conditions were rough, and a yellow warning had been issued for passenger boats and fishermen.
Background on the Diving Team and Permits
Four of the divers were part of a team from the University of Genoa. The university informed the BBC that it did not authorize any deep-sea diving as part of their scientific research.
"The requests submitted to the Maldivian authorities...were evidently made outside the scope of the mission authorised by the University," a university spokesperson stated.
A Maldivian government spokesperson told the BBC that the team had a permit to dive to a depth of 50 meters but had not mentioned the cave in their proposal.
