Wednesday
20th May 2026
Dhivehi Edition
Photo: MNDF
The bodies of the remaining two Italian divers who went missing during a cave diving expedition near Alimatha Cave have been recovered, concluding a multi-day search and recovery operation involving Maldivian authorities and foreign diving experts.
According to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), the operation resumed following the arrival of three Finnish diving specialists who travelled to the Maldives at the request of the Italian government.
Authorities had earlier recovered two bodies on Tuesday after locating all four remaining missing divers inside the cave system where the group had been diving.
The incident occurred on 14 May after five Italian nationals went missing during the expedition. The MNDF Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and the Maldives Police Service received reports of the incident at approximately 1:45 p.m., prompting a large-scale search operation involving maritime and aerial assets.
Authorities stated that the first body was recovered on the day of the incident from a section of the cave around 60 metres deep.
The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, 51; Giorgia Somacal, 20; Muriel Odenino, 31; Gianluca Benedetti, 41; and Federico Gualtieri, 31.
Recovery operations conducted by the MNDF diving team were suspended following the death of Sergeant First Class Mohamed Mahudhee, who died while participating in the mission on Saturday.
Authorities in both the Maldives and Italy have launched investigations into the incident. According to Italian media reports, prosecutors in Italy have opened a culpable homicide investigation and are expected to obtain statements from the crew and management of the safari vessel involved in the expedition.
Autopsies are also expected to be conducted after the bodies are repatriated to Italy.