First pictures from inside a deep underwater cave in the Maldives have revealed the hazardous labyrinth where six divers lost their lives in one of the country's deadliest diving disasters, according to The Independent. The images, released after a multinational recovery mission, show narrow tunnels, steep drop-offs and silt-filled chambers nearly 60 metres below the surface in Vaavu Atoll.
According to The Independent, the tragedy began on May 14 when five experienced Italian divers entered the cave system, locally known as "Shark Cave", during an expedition near Alimathaa Island. The group included marine ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
Authorities said the divers descended far beyond the Maldives' recreational diving limit of 30 metres. Investigators believe they reached depths of around 50 to 60 metres while exploring an unmapped cave network made up of several chambers, as per The Metro.
Benedetti's body was recovered near the cave entrance shortly after the group disappeared. The other four divers remained trapped deep inside the cave for days as rescue operations were repeatedly hampered by poor visibility, strong underwater conditions and the extreme depth.
During an attempt to recover the missing divers, Maldivian military diver Sgt Mohamed Mahudhee died from decompression sickness, becoming the sixth victim linked to the disaster.
Specialist cave divers from Finland later entered the cave using advanced rebreather equipment and located the remaining bodies in the innermost chamber. Recovery experts said the divers may have become disoriented after entering a dead-end tunnel and stirring up thick silt that reduced visibility to almost zero.
Investigators are now studying GoPro footage and diving computers recovered from the site to determine exactly what went wrong. Maldivian authorities have also suspended the operating licence of the dive vessel involved while examining whether safety and permit rules were breached.
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