Repatriation of Italian Divers’ Remains from Maldives Cave

The remains of four Italian divers who tragically died inside an underwater cave in the Maldives were repatriated early Saturday, according to a Maldivian government spokesperson. The incident occurred earlier this month when five Italian divers went missing on May 14 while exploring a cave approximately 160 feet underwater in Vaavu Atoll. The body of their Italian diving instructor, recovered outside the cave, was returned home shortly thereafter.

A high-risk operation faced numerous challenges in recovering the bodies. Mohamed Mahudhee, a Maldivian military diver who was part of the team, lost his life, leading to the initial suspension of recovery efforts. The mission later resumed with the assistance of three Finnish expert deep and cave divers. They successfully located the four bodies last week at a depth of about 200 feet in the cave’s innermost chamber. Recreational diving in the Maldives has a depth limit of about 98 feet.

Maldives President’s Spokesman, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, announced on Saturday the initiation of two investigations. One focuses on the fatalities of the five divers, while the other examines the circumstances of Mahudhee’s death during the mission. Shareef mentioned that Italy agreed to share autopsy findings, if conducted, on the repatriated bodies.

Images captured on May 19, 2026, show Red Crescent emergency responders and police personnel transferring the remains from a police speed boat to an ambulance in Male. The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.

Government spokesperson Ahmed Shaam noted that the bodies were discovered ‘pretty much together.’ Reports from Italy’s La Repubblica daily paper indicated the group was found within a dead-end chamber. The CEO of Dan Europe, the Finnish team responsible for recovering the remains, suggested that the divers ‘may have got lost’ inside the cave. Given their limited air supply, they probably didn’t have sufficient time to make multiple attempts to find the correct exit, explained CEO Marroni.