The remains of 4 Italian divers killed in a Maldives cave dive have been repatriated

Four Italian divers who died inside an underwater cave in the Maldives were repatriated to Italy, with coffins arriving at Milan’s Malpensa Airport. The bodies were taken to a morgue and autopsies were scheduled to begin on Monday. Five Italian divers went missing on May 14 while exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll, and the diving instructor’s body was recovered earlier and returned home. A recovery operation faced setbacks after a Maldivian military diver was killed, and it was later resumed with help from Finnish expert deep and cave divers. The four bodies were found last week in the innermost chamber at about 60 meters depth. Two investigations were initiated, including one into the divers’ deaths and another into the Maldivian diver’s death while on duty, and Italy agreed to share autopsy findings.

"The remains of four Italian divers who died deep inside an underwater cave earlier this month while diving in the Maldives were repatriated early Saturday, a Maldivian government spokesperson said. The four coffins arrived at Milan's Malpensa Airport in the middle of the day. The bodies were taken to a morgue and autopsies were due to begin on Monday, according to Italian news agency LaPresse."

"Five Italian divers went missing on May 14 while exploring the cave about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll. The body of their Italian diving instructor was recovered outside the cave at the time and has already been returned home. A high-risk operation to recover the bodies faced hurdles and was initially suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a Maldivian military diver who was part of the recovery team, was killed."

"Three Finnish expert deep and cave divers joined the mission and located the four bodies last week in the innermost chamber of the cave at a depth of around 60 meters (200 feet). The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet). Maldives President's Spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said Saturday two investigations were initiated; one into the death of the five divers and the other probing how Mahudhee died while on duty."

"Government spokesperson Ahmed Shaam said earlier the four bodies were found "pretty much together." While the divers had a permit, authorities didn't know from their proposal the exact location of the cave they were exploring, and at least two of the dead were not on the list of researchers that had been submitted, according to Maldivian authorities."

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