The Italian government confirmed on Monday that the bodies of four Italian divers were in an underwater cave in the Maldives.
“As previously thought, all four bodies were found inside the cave, not just inside the cave but in the third section of the cave, which is the largest section,” said Maldives government spokesman Ahmed Sham, adding that the four were found “pretty much together.”
The body of the fifth Italian, a diving instructor, was first found outside the cave entrance.
What do we know about the case?
The group is believed to have been searching the bottom of the Maldives’ Vaavu Atoll last Thursday at a depth of 50 meters (160 feet), well below the country’s legal diving limit of 30 meters.
Efforts to recover the group by the Maldives National Defense Force (MDNF) were called off on Saturday after diver Mohammed Mahudhi died from underwater decompression sickness.
On Sunday, three expert Finnish volunteers arrived in the Maldives and hatched a new plan to conduct a large-scale search of the cave system for the four missing Italians. Bad weather initially hampered their efforts, but eventually the three were successful in locating the bodies.
According to MDNF, it will take time to bring the dead divers to the surface. The official cause of his death remains under investigation.
Edited by: Louis Olofse