Five experienced Italian divers who vanished inside an underwater cave system in the Maldives may have become trapped after taking a wrong turn deep below the surface, investigators now believe.
The group disappeared during a dive near Alimathaa Island in Vaavu Atoll on 14 May, in what has since become thedeadliest diving tragedy in Maldivian history. Recovery teams later found the divers inside the cave's deepest chamber alongside recovered GoPro cameras that could now reveal their final moments, including how panic, poor visibility and rapidly falling oxygen levels may have turned the exploration fatal.
Authorities recovered GoPro cameras, dive computers and other underwater equipment from the cave system where the five Italian divers were found dead earlier this week.
Investigators hope the footage could help reconstruct the group's final movements inside the underwater chambers near Vaavu Atoll, a popular Maldives diving destination known for strong currents and deep cave systems.
According to reports from Finnish technical divers involved in the recovery mission, the group likely entered the wrong chamber after visibility collapsed underwater. Stirred-up sand and silt may have created what divers call a 'sand wall illusion,' making the correct exit impossible to see.
The divers were eventually discovered near a dead-end third chamber at depths reaching nearly 200 feet.
The victims were identified as marine ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal,marine researcher Muriel Oddenino, Federico Gualtieri and dive instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
The group had travelled to the Maldives for a scientific expedition studying coral reefs and climate change impacts on marine biodiversity. During the trip, they reportedly decided to explore the underwater cave system using recreational scuba gear rather than technical cave-diving equipment.
An internationally led recovery operation is under way in the Maldives to retrieve the bodies of 4 Italian divers from a deep underwater cave. They were among 5 who entered the water in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday. Italy, Britain and Australia are assisting the grim recovery.pic.twitter.com/e65aM0ZQhx
Montefalcone, who had completed more than 5,000 dives, was known to regularly film dives using a GoPro camera.
Source: International Business Times UK
