Bodies of 2 Italian divers found deep in underwater cave in Maldives – National
Divers on Tuesday found the bodies of two of the four remaining Italians who died deep in an underwater cave in the Maldives last week, a spokesman for the Indian Ocean country said, while describing “extremely challenging” conditions such as poor visibility and strong currents.
The bodies were found on Monday as the search continued after a suspension from duty following the death of a local military diver while trying to retrieve them. The bodies were about 60 meters (200 feet) deep, twice the legal depth for recreational diving in the island nation.
Five Italian divers went missing on Thursday. The body of an Italian diving instructor was found earlier outside the cave. The remaining two bodies are expected to be found on Wednesday.
The Maldivian government said Finnish divers carrying out a recovery operation found the bodies in the interior of the cave. Government spokesman Ahmed Shaam said the four bodies were found “very close together.”
Five Italians were exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll. The first teams dived to spot and mark the entrance to where they disappeared.
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The cave has been dived before by local experts and foreign divers, presidential spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef told the Associated Press.
While the divers had permission, the authorities did not know the exact location of the cave they were exploring, and at least two of the dead were not on the list of researchers brought in, “so we didn’t know they were part of the expedition,” Shareef said.
“It’s actually a very challenging dive, you know,” he added. “Number one, because of the depth, number two, because of the real location, because that station has strong water, a strong descent to the bottom to each, and the conditions down there, the visibility, for example, when you enter the cave can be almost zero.”
He said the weather is a challenge, as the warning has been issued, and the investigators must see if the divers have taken the appropriate measures.
Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which distributes the Finnish divers, described them as technical and cave divers with experience in search and rescue, including working in “deep waters, confined spaces and extremely dangerous conditions.”
The team uses sealed rebreathers, a system that recycles exhaled breathing gas and removes carbon dioxide using a chemical wrench, allowing for “extremely long dives,” the organization said.
Shareef said the Maldives has a strong reputation and infrastructure for safe diving and called the incident unfortunate and sad, but noted the difference between this type of technical diving and the type of entertainment enjoyed by many tourists.
The Maldivian military diver’s cause of death was still under investigation, but his colleagues suggested he may have died of nitrogen narcosis or collapse at depth.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
