Five tourists ‘including university professor and her daughter’ die during diving excursion in 160ft-deep cave in Maldives
Five Italian tourists died while exploring underwater caves 50 meters below ground in the Maldives.
According to local media reports, the group had gone on a diving trip to explore Vaavu island on Thursday morning.
Authorities received reports that he disappeared around 13:45 local time after divers did not surface at noon.
The bodies were found during search and rescue efforts.
According to initial reports, five tourists boarded the ‘luxury’ Duke of York yacht, a foreign-run live-diving vessel, and disappeared near Alimatha, one of the atoll’s most popular diving spots.
One of the victims was identified by Italian newspaper Il Messaggero as 51-year-old Monica Montefalcone, a respected marine biologist, TV personality and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa.
His 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal also died.
The other three victims were identified as Muriel Oddenino from Turin, Gianluca Benedetti from Padua and Federico Gualtieri from Borgomanero.
Montefalcone and Oddenino were colleagues at the University of Genoa.
One of the victims was identified by the Italian press as Monica Montefalcone, a professor and researcher at the University of Genoa (pictured)
Monica Montefalcone’s daughter Giorgia Sommacal (20) also passed away
Gianluca Benedetti from Padua was among those who died while diving.
According to initial reports, five tourists had boarded the foreign-run liveaboard dive ship Duke of York (pictured) and disappeared near Alimatha.
Montefalcone worked in the Department of Earth Sciences Distav. According to Italian reports, he was the scientific director of an island monitoring campaign in the Maldives.
Benedetti was an operations manager as well as a diving instructor and boat captain.
Police have launched an investigation into the tragedy, but the cause of death is currently unknown and no official statement has yet been made.
Local officials said it was the worst single diving accident in the country, which consists of 1,192 small coral islands scattered about 500 miles along the equator in the Indian Ocean.
The Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) said in a statement that aircraft and speedboats were deployed for a massive search after the group of five people were reported missing on Thursday afternoon.
The statement said, “The body of one of the five divers who dived in Vaavu Atoll was found.”
‘The body was found in a cave. The remaining four divers are believed to be in the same cave, which extends to a depth of approximately 60 meters (65 yards).’
Weather conditions at the dive site today were unfavorable with winds blowing between 25 and 30 miles per hour.
The weather service issued a yellow alert for the area this morning, the alert is still valid.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed the incident.
The statement said, ‘Five Italians died following an accident that occurred while scuba diving in Vaavu atoll in the Maldives.’
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka said they were ‘in contact with the families of the victims to provide the necessary consular assistance’.
Five Italian tourists died while exploring underwater caves 50 meters below the surface in the Maldives (file image)
According to local media reports, some diving experts believe that such sudden deaths of multiple divers may have been caused by oxygen poisoning.
Oxygen toxicity results from breathing oxygen at high pressure for long periods of time, which can cause tissue damage and compromise the central nervous system.
The yacht company provides nitrox, a breathing mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, for scuba diving, as stated on its official website.
Built in 2010, the ship was designed to carry passengers to certain destinations specifically chosen for tourists who enjoy scuba diving in the Maldives.
Duke of York has 11 spacious luxury cabins across three decks that can accommodate a total of 21 guests, each costing just over €2,000 for a weeklong cruise.
There are six double, twin or triple cabins on the lower deck.
While there is one double cabin on the main deck, there are three additional double cabins with sea views on the upper deck.
Each cabin has independent air conditioning and a private bathroom.
Common areas include a large, air-conditioned interior lounge with comfortable seating, TV, full entertainment system and bar.
There is also a restaurant on the main deck of the ship serving local and Italian cuisine.
Three decks offer panoramic views with comfortable seating including sun loungers and sun loungers. The crew consists of 13 people.
