Worst diving disaster in Maldives hory: 5 Italians dead in 50-meter deep underwater cave

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 16, 2026 02:00 PM Five Italians died in the Maldives during a scuba diving accident in a deep underwater cave. Authorities conducted a high-risk search on Friday for the bodies of four divers, while the fifth diver’s body was recovered on Thursday. According to Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef, the divers, were believed to have been exploring the cave when they went missing.
Four of them were part of a team from the University of Genoa: ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, research fellow Muriel Oddenino and marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri. Gianluca Benedetti, the fifth victim, was a boat operations manager and diving instructor.
The Italian Foreign Minry said the divers “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters (164 feet)” in the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday. Shareef said, “The cave is so deep that divers, even with the best equipment, do not try to approach.”

L’Università di Genova esprime profondo cordoglio per l’improvvisa e tragica scomparsa di Monica Montefalcone, della figlia Giorgia Sommacal, di Muriel Oddenino e di Federico Gualtieri. https://t.co/hCtkkT8BZF
— Università di Genova (@UniGenova) May 14, 2026
What is ‘oxygen toxicity’?
The Italian Foreign Minry said that 20 other Italian nationals aboard the Duke of York yacht, from which the divers took off, are unharmed and receiving assance from the Embassy of Italy in Sri Lanka.
Authorities deployed boats, aircraft, and dive teams to search the area but have not recovered the four bodies yet. The BBC reported a dive master suggesting that “oxygen toxicity” might have contributed to the deaths.
It is a condition caused breathing oxygen at high partial pressures underwater, turning the gas toxic.
The Italian foreign minry said, the cave is divided into three large rooms connected narrow passages. Rescue divers have searched two rooms. The third one will be searched on Saturday.
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