The bodies of two Italians who drowned in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been brought to the surface, local officials have confirmed.
They were retrieved from the third chamber of an underwater cave by specialist divers from Finland after a two-hour operation, Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, reported.
These bodies are set to be brought to the capital, Male, for identification. They are part of a greater tragedy involving a total of five fatalities from the accident, with two bodies still remaining inside the cave.
The first victim recovered was identified as Gianluca Benedetti, an operations manager and diving instructor. His body was discovered shortly after the incident on Thursday.
The situation escalated with the death of a Maldivian rescue diver during the search efforts, highlighting the dangerous nature of the ongoing recovery operation.
The four missing divers were discovered on Monday in the chamber of the cave often referred to as shark cave that reaches depths of up to 60 meters (197 feet).
Officials indicated that efforts to retrieve the remaining bodies would resume on Wednesday, expressing optimism that they would be found the same day, as the previous operations revealed vital clues that might clarify the reasons behind the tragic accident.
Compounding the urgency of the recovery efforts, the adverse weather conditions at the time of the dive were noted, with warnings issued for fishing boats and passenger vessels in the area.
Among the divers were members from the University of Genoa, raising questions about the authorization of the dive as officials claim the team had a permit only for depths up to 50 meters, without mentioning the cave in their proposal.
A university spokesperson clarified that the dive was conducted in a personal capacity and not authorized within the university's scope of scientific research activities.
As the university reviews its protocols for underwater diving, they aim to ensure compliance with regulations and improve the safety of such endeavors in the future.
