Elite divers recover bodies of two Italian tourists from underwater Maldives cave
New York Post • • world
Key Points:
- Finnish elite divers recovered two bodies of the four missing Italian tourists from an underwater cave in the Maldives, found at a depth of around 200 feet inside the cave's third segment.
- The missing tourists, Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, Muriel Oddenino, and Federico Gualtieri, vanished while exploring the cave last Thursday; two bodies remain unrecovered as of now.
- The recovery operation was paused after the death of Sgt. Major Mohamed Mahudhee from decompression sickness during an earlier attempt by Maldivian Coast Guard divers.
- The Finnish team, deployed by Divers Alert Network Europe, used advanced diving technology including closed-circuit rebreathers to conduct deep and prolonged dives in this high-risk environment.
- The body of diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti was previously recovered near the cave entrance, highlighting the dangers involved in the underwater cave exploration.