The identities of all five scuba divers who died while exploring underwater caves in the Maldives have been revealed.
The group, from Italy, had set off on a diving expedition on Thursday morning to explore the Vaavu atoll but never resurfaced.
One of the victims has been named by Italian media 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.
Her 20-year-old daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, also died.
The other three victims have been named as Muriel Oddenino of Turin, Gianluca Benedetti of Padua, and Federico Gualtieri of Borgomanero.
Montefalcone worked at Distav, the Department of Earth Sciences. In the Maldives, she was the scientific director of the island monitoring campaign, according to Italian reports.
Oddenino was her colleague at the University of Genoa, while Benedetti was an operations manager, as well as a diving instructor and boat captain.
The group had boarded the ‘luxury’ Duke of York yacht, a foreign-operated live-aboard diving vessel, and they disappeared near Alimatha, one of the atoll’s most popular diving spots.
One of the victims has been named by Italian press as Monica Montefalcone, a professor and researcher at the University of Genoa (pictured)
Giorgia Sommacal, 20, Monica Montefalcone’s daughter, also died
Gianluca Benedetti of Padua was named as one of the people who died on the dive
Aircraft and speedboats were deployed for a major search after the group of five was reported missing on Thursday afternoon, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said in a statement.
‘One body has been found among five divers who went diving in Vaavu Atoll,’ the statement said.
‘The body was found inside a cave. It is believed that the remaining four divers are also inside the same cave, which extends to a depth of about 60 metres (200 feet).’
The diver whose body was discovered has not been publicly identified.
Rescue teams on Friday continued their search for the remaining bodies.
Meanwhile, police have launched an investigation into the tragedy, but the cause of death remains unknown at this time.
Authorities have not ruled out several scenarios, with police probing whether bad weather may have affected the divers’ visibility.
According to Italian news outlet La Repubblica, the fact that none of the five divers managed to resurface suggests the group may have become lost within an underwater cave.
Pictured: Federico Gualtieri who died in the Maldives
Muriel Oddenino was also a researcher at the University of Genoa
With little light and poor visibility due to bad weather, they may have lost their bearings, panicked, and perhaps run out of air while trying to find their way out.
Police also haven’t ruled out the possibility that one of the five may have gotten stuck while the others ran out of air or panicked while trying to free their colleague.
Diving experts have also been speculating on various hypotheses.
According to local media, one of the most widely accepted hypotheses by the coast guard and experts is oxygen toxicity, a phenomenon which occurs if the tank’s mixture is inadequate, making oxygen toxic at certain depths.
‘At 50 meters of depth in the sea, there are several risks; it’s a real tragedy,’ says Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine.
‘There are several hypotheses we can make right now: an inadequate breathing mix can create a hyperoxic crisis when there’s an increase in the partial pressure of oxygen in the tissues and blood plasma, which can cause neurological problems.’
‘Inside a cave at 50 meters of depth, all it takes is a problem for a diver or a panic attack for a diver,’ he adds, saying that ‘the agitation causes the water to become cloudy and can impair visibility.
According to initial reports, the five tourists had boarded the Duke of York (pictured), a foreign-operated live-aboard diving vessel, and they disappeared near Alimatha
‘In these cases, the panic component could lead to even fatal errors.’
The yacht company for the Duke of York, as stated on its official website, provides nitrox – the breathing mixture for scuba diving, composed of nitrogen and oxygen.
The ship, built in 2010, is designed to transport passengers to select destinations in the Maldives, specifically chosen for tourists who enjoy scuba diving.
Local officials said it was the worst single diving accident in the nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean.
Maldives Minister of Tourism Mohamed Ameen said coast guard officers and security forces were scouring remote seas around where the divers were reported missing on Thursday afternoon.
‘I am deeply saddened by the tragic deep diving accident in Vaavu Atoll today,’ Ameen said in a statement.
‘The coastguard and all relevant authorities are actively engaged in the search and recovery operation.
Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the incident.
The Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean, is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers (file image)
‘Following an accident during a scuba dive, five Italians died in the Vaavu atoll, in the Maldives,’ a statement read.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, have said they have been ‘contacting the victims’ families to provide any necessary consular assistance’.
The Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean, is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers, who often stay at secluded resorts or on dive boats.
Local regulations allow dives to a maximum depth of 98 feet, but experienced professionals are known to go deeper.
Diving and water-sport-related accidents are relatively rare in the South Asian nation, although several fatal incidents have been reported in recent years.
Local media reports said at least 112 tourists had died in marine-related incidents in the archipelago over the past six years, including 42 in diving or snorkelling accidents.
