Final Two Bodies of Missing Italian Divers Recovered in Maldives

COLOMBO (News 1st); The bodies of the two remaining Italians who went missing while diving in the Maldives have been successfully recovered, concluding an extensive multi-day operation involving Maldivian authorities and international diving experts.

The recovery effort, which ended on May 20, marked the conclusion of a large-scale search operation led by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard, the police service, and a team of experienced Finnish technical divers dispatched by the Italian government.

The Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which deployed the Finnish divers, described them as technical and cave divers with experience in search and recovery missions, including operations in “deep overhead environments, confined spaces and high-risk scenarios.”

Government officials confirmed that all four victims were located inside a cave system where they had been diving. The recovery process was carried out in stages, with two bodies retrieved the previous day and the final two recovered on May 20.

Chief Government Spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef stated that identification of the bodies is currently underway. He added that authorities are coordinating with the Italian government to repatriate the remains to Italy.

The search operation began after the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received a report at 1:45 pm on May 14 regarding the disappearance of five Italian divers.

The group, which included an Italian diving instructor and four tourist divers, had failed to surface at the expected time.

Following the report, the MNDF launched a comprehensive search operation by both sea and air. The first body recovered was identified as that of the diving instructor.

The three Finnish divers who led the recovery operation brought extensive international experience, having previously taken part in similar underwater recovery missions across several countries. The expedition that ended in tragedy was led by Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, along with research fellow Muriel Oddenino. Their work focused on studying the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity.

Also among the divers were Montefalcone’s daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, a student at the university, and recent graduate Federico Gualtieri.