Share to ClassroomItalian Divers' Bodies Found in Maldives Cave
On Wednesday, Finnish divers brought the last two bodies of four Italian divers out of an underwater cave in the Maldives. The cave is in Vaavu Atoll and is called 'shark cave.' It is about 60 metres (200 feet) deep. This is twice the legal limit for fun diving. The four divers were Giorgia Sommacal, her mother Monica Montefalcone, Muriel Oddenino, and Federico Gualtieri. A fifth Italian, diving teacher Gianluca Benedetti, had been found dead near the cave entrance the week before.
Four of the divers were from the University of Genoa. But the university said it did not allow such a deep dive. The trip was private. Officials also said that two of the divers were not on the official research list. A yellow weather warning was active that day, and conditions in the cave were hard, with strong water and poor visibility.
Special divers from Europe carried out the recovery. They used breathing machines called rebreathers, which clean the air so divers can stay underwater longer. The mission had stopped for some days after a Maldives military diver, Mohamed Mahdi, died on Saturday during an earlier attempt. He may have died from decompression sickness— a problem caused by coming up from underwater too fast. The bodies will be sent back to Italy.
