The bodies of 4 divers who went missing during an underwater caving trip have been found.
Five Italians died exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said.
The victims were identified last week and included a mother and daughter.
Only considered one of the bodies was initially recovered before the search was suspended after a neighborhood military diver, Mohamed Mahudhee, died trying to find the remaining 4 and rough weather impacted rescue efforts.
Nevertheless, the search resumed on Monday and all five bodies have been situated, the Maldives government said.
The victims were Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology on the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
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Mr Benedetti was the primary to be recovered from near the mouth of the cave on Thursday. Authorities consider the opposite 4 entered the cave before they lost their lives.
The diving limit within the Maldives is 30m. Nevertheless, the group is known to have died at a depth of around 50m below the surface.
The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip has denied authorising or knowing in regards to the group’s deep dive, which exceeded local limits, its lawyer told Italian local publication Corriere della Sera.
An investigation is underway to ascertain the explanation for death.
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, offered his condolences to Mr Mahudhee’s family and said all the things possible can be done to bring the bodies of the victims home.
Mr Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defence Force, was recovered from the water and transferred to a hospital within the country’s capital, Malé.
Nevertheless, he died of underwater decompression sickness on Saturday. He was buried with military honours in a funeral which took place that evening, attended by the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu.
In a press release on Friday, the University of Genoa said Ms Montefalcone and Ms Oddenino had travelled to the Maldives on an official scientific mission to observe marine environments and study the results of climate change on tropical biodiversity.
The scuba diving trip was not an element of this research and was ‘undertaken privately’, the statement added.
Two other victims weren’t a part of the official mission.