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Five Italian tourists, including a mother an daughter, have died in a scuba diving accident while exploring caves in the Maldives.
The group set off on a deep cave-diving trip in the popular Vaavu atoll, south of the capital, Male, on Thursday morning, local time, but failed to return.
Monica Montefalcone, a 55-year-old marine biologist and associate professor at the Università di Genova, and her 20-year-old daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, have been identified as two of the victims by media.
The other victims have been identified as Gianluca Benedetti, Federico Gualtieri, a recent graduate of Università di Genova, and Muriel Oddenino, a research assistant at the university.
“Following an accident that occurred during a scuba diving trip, five Italian nationals have died in Vaavu Atoll, in the Maldives,” Rome’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The divers are believed to have died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres.”
The divers are believed to have boarded the Duke of York yacht, a live-aboard diving vessel, on Thursday morning, according to The Sun.
The group were later reported missing by the crew of the diving vessel around 1.45pm, sparking a major search involving aircraft and speedboats.
“One body has been found among five divers who went diving in Vaavu Atoll,” the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said in a statement.
“The body was found inside a cave. It is believed that the remaining four divers are also inside the same cave, which extends to a depth of about 60 metres.”
The divers’ cause of death has not been revealed.
Police said the weather was rough on Thursday, with a yellow weather warning in place and winds reportedly reaching up to 48km/h.
The Università di Genova shared its condolences in a statement on social media.
“The University of Genoa expresses its deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic passing of Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, Muriel Oddenino, and Federico Gualtieri” it wrote on X in a translated post.
The foreign ministry said the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka was providing consular assistance to the victims’ families.
The tragedy is the worst single diving accident in the Maldives, local officials said.
In December, a British diver died after being pulled into a strong current off the island resort of Ellaidhoo. Her husband died five days later after falling ill.
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