Bodies of missing Italian divers found in Maldives

The bodies of four Italian divers who went missing during a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been located, officials have confirmed.

One body, belonging to a fifth member of the group, had already been recovered following the incident on Thursday.

According to local authorities, the divers were found inside a cave at a depth of 60 metres (197 feet) in the Vaavu Atoll. The discovery was made by a joint team of highly trained Finnish and Maldivian divers.

Efforts are ongoing to recover the bodies. Maldivian government spokesperson Mohamed Hossain Shareef had told the BBC that further dives will be carried out in the coming days to retrieve them.

The incident has been described as the worst single diving accident in the Maldives, a nation widely known for its popularity as a tourist destination due to its coral islands.

Among the victims, four were part of a University of Genoa team: Professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, and researchers Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri. The fifth Italian national who died was Gianluca Benedetti, a boat operations manager and diving instructor.

The tragedy also claimed the life of a Maldivian rescue diver. Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahdhee reportedly died on Saturday while participating in search operations.

Authorities stated that Mahdhee was part of a group of eight rescue divers deployed to locate the missing individuals. According to Shareef, when the divers resurfaced, they realized that Mahdhee had not come up. The team immediately re-entered the water and found him unconscious.

It is believed that the four newly discovered bodies were located in the same underwater cave where the first body had been found on the day of the accident.