Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that rescuers have situated the bodies of 4 Italian divers deep inside an underwater cave in an atoll within the Maldives, 4 days after they were reported missing.
Searches had resumed on Monday after being suspended following the death of an area military diver during a dangerous mission to try to achieve them.
The federal government of the Indian Ocean island nation confirmed the bodies were spotted within the innermost a part of the cave by three Finnish diving experts, supported by the Maldives police and the military.
“As was previously thought, the 4 bodies were found contained in the cave, not only contained in the cave but well contained in the cave into the third segment of the cave, which is the biggest part,” said Ahmed Shaam, a Maldives government spokesman.
He said the 4 were found “just about together.”
“The plan is they may attempt to recuperate two bodies tomorrow and possibly the opposite two the next day,” Shaam said in a voice clip sent to the media.
The Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which deployed the three Finnish divers, said on its website that they’re technical and cave divers with international experience in search and recovery missions, including operations in “deep overhead environments, confined spaces, and high-risk scenarios.”
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The team used advanced technical systems, including closed-circuit rebreathers, a system that recycles exhaled respiratory gas and removes carbon dioxide through a chemical scrubber, allowing for “significantly longer dives,” the organization explained.
The body of a fifth Italian — a diving instructor — was found earlier outside the cave. The five were exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, in keeping with Italy’s Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit within the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet).
Three Finnish divers, experts in deep and cave diving arrived within the Maldives on Sunday.
Maldives presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef said earlier that the search was suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital within the capital on Saturday.
Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.
Initial teams had already dived to discover and mark the doorway to the cave system where the Italians disappeared. The reason for the deaths stays under investigation.
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