Bodies of divers who died in Maldives scuba accident returned to Italy
CBS News • • world
Key Points:
- The remains of four Italian divers who died inside an underwater cave in the Maldives were repatriated after a challenging recovery operation that followed the disappearance of five divers on May 14.
- The divers went missing while exploring a cave about 160 feet underwater in Vaavu Atoll; their instructor's body was recovered earlier outside the cave.
- The recovery mission was complicated by the death of a Maldivian military diver, Mohamed Mahudhee, and involved Finnish expert cave divers who located the bodies at a depth of around 200 feet, beyond the Maldives' recreational diving limit.
- Two investigations have been launched: one into the divers' deaths and another into the military diver's death, with Italy agreeing to share autopsy findings from the repatriated bodies.
- The victims included academics and researchers, and the Finnish recovery team suggested the group likely got lost in the cave, with limited air supply preventing them from finding the exit.