Search operations have resumed in the Maldives for four Italian divers who disappeared during a cave diving expedition on Thursday. The Maldivian Coast Guard, supported by a team of eight local divers, has begun systematic dives to locate and recover the missing individuals.
The Italian Foreign Ministry, known as the Farnesina, confirmed that Minister Antonio Tajani is in direct contact with Italy’s ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Damiano Francovigh, and the honorary consul in Malé, Giorgia Marazzi. Both officials are aboard the Coast Guard vessel “Ghazee” to oversee the recovery mission.
According to ministry sources, the first two divers have already descended to pinpoint and mark the entrance to the series of caves where the group is believed to have become trapped. Six additional divers will enter the water in shifts to search for the bodies and bring them to the surface.
So far, only the body of Gianluca Benedetti, a professional diver from Padua, has been recovered and identified. Severe weather on Friday forced a temporary suspension of the search for the other four missing people, who include a university lecturer, her daughter, and two researchers.
Investigation and Safety Concerns
The Rome public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the incident, focusing on compliance with safety regulations. Recreational dives in the Maldives are restricted to a maximum depth of thirty metres; deeper dives require special permits for scientific purposes. The trip led by the professor coordinating the project does not appear to have been linked to her institutional activities.
The alarm was raised when the group failed to return after a scheduled one-hour dive. Witnesses on board the yacht “Duke of York”, which carried 25 Italian tourists including the five missing divers, immediately requested intervention from the Crisis Unit.
Local authorities are examining several theories to explain the accident. All victims were highly experienced professionals with advanced diving certifications. Leading hypotheses include a fatal loss of orientation inside the cave caused by sand stirred up by the swell, possible toxicity of gases in the cylinders, or a scenario where one diver became trapped and the others ran out of oxygen while attempting a rescue.
It also remains unclear whether the guide line—the so-called “Ariadne’s thread”—was used to ensure a safe exit, or whether a serious technical error occurred in the initial mixing of the breathing gas.
Minister Tajani has instructed that the recovery of the bodies be closely monitored and that assistance be provided to the families of the missing and to Italian nationals who now need to return home. At his request, the Maldivian police have set up a team to offer psychological support to those involved.
The yacht “Duke of York” has since reached the capital Malé. This tragic incident echoes a previous fatal cave diving accident in the Maldives, as reported in Five Italian Divers Die in Maldives Cave Diving Accident.
