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  "path": "/news/bodies-of-missing-italian-divers-found-in-maldives.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-18T13:34:24.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.wantedinrome.com",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "English news in Italy"
  ],
  "textContent": "Tragedy was worst worst single diving accident in history of Maldives.\nThe bodies of four Italian divers who went missing in the Maldives last week have been located in an underwater cave, officials have confirmed.\n\nThe four were among a group of five Italians who disappeared on Thursday morning after entering the water at Vaavu Atoll, around 100 km south of the capital Malé.\n\nThe body of the first victim, diving instructor and boat operations manager Gianluca Benedetti, was recovered on the day of the incident.\n\nThe remaining four - Professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, and fellow University of Genoa researchers Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri - have now been located in the third and deepest section of a cave at the Vaavu Atoll dive site, some 60 metres below the surface.\n\nItaly's foreign ministry confirmed their discovery, noting that additional dives would be required to bring the bodies to the surface.\n\nRecovery operations\nOperations to recover the bodies have been conducted by a joint team including Maldivian coast guard divers, Maldivian police divers, and a three-person Finnish team from the specialist organisation DAN Europe.\n\nAn ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) was also deployed at one stage when strong currents made deep dives unsafe.\n\nFurther tragedy\nThe operation has been gravely complicated by a further tragedy: Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahdhee, described as one of the coast guard's most experienced divers, died on Saturday from decompression sickness sustained during the search.\n\nHe was one of eight rescue divers in the water when he failed to resurface; colleagues re-entered immediately and found him unconscious.\n\nThe incident is considered the worst single diving accident in the Maldives' history. Authorities noted that recreational divers are permitted to a maximum depth of 30 metres, and that whilst the group held permission for coral research including deep dives, their proposal made no mention of cave diving.\n\nWeather conditions at the site had been rough at the time the group went missing. An investigation into the circumstances of the accident is ongoing.",
  "title": "Bodies of missing Italian divers found in Maldives"
}