Six, including rescuer, die in Maldives scuba tragedy

Five Italians have died in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives, the foreign ministry in Rome has said. A search diver has died while looking for the bodies of four tourists exploring, the country's president has revealed.

"The divers are believed to have died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft)," the ministry said, adding that this happened in Vaavu Atoll.

The University of Genoa named four of the victims as professor of ecology Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, who was a student, research fellow Muriel Oddenino, and marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri.

The fifth victim was confirmed by the Maldivian government as being diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, whose body has been recovered.
The rescue diver Sergeant Major Mohamed Mahudhee became sick and died also during this rescue operation.

Deceased Sgt Major Mohamed Mahudhee was searching for the divers who died in the Maldives. Photo: X/MNDF_Official

In a statement posted on its website, the University of Genoa said: "The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey."

The Maldives' military said one body had been found in a cave about 60m underwater, and the other four divers were believed to be also there.

It said divers with special equipment had been sent to the area, describing a search operation as a very high risk.Italy's foreign ministry said on Friday that officials were working with the Maldivian authorities to search for the bodies.

It said in an earlier statement that another 20 Italian nationals aboard the Duke of York yacht, from which the five divers took off, are unharmed and receiving assistance from the Embassy of Italy in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The ministry added that the yacht is waiting for weather conditions to improve before returning to the Maldives' capital, Male.