Italy mourns the loss of five scuba divers who went missing in the Maldives last week, as an expert suggests that they might have been pulled into an underwater cave by a strong current. The divers were led by a marine ecologist and University of Genoa professor, Monica Montefalcone, and included her daughter, Giorgia. Investigators are probing multiple factors behind the accident, including whether the divers descended far deeper than expected. The hypothesis that the divers were sucked into a cave by a strong 'freak' current is being considered.
A group of five Italians who perished while deep-sea diving in the Maldives last week might have been sucked into an underwater cave by a current, an expert has suggested.
Tragedy struck last Thursday when the group - including a mother and daughter - attempted to explore caves at a depth of around 165ft in the Vaavu Atoll, but never resurfaced. Maldivian authorities are probing multiple possible factors behind the accident, including whether the divers descended far deeper than expected. Among the multiple theories that have emerged, the hypothesis that the divers were sucked into a cave by a strong 'freak' current is being considered.
According to the president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, Alfonso Bolognini, the five divers might have been pulled into the crevice by a powerful current called the 'Venturi effect'. This phenomenon occurs when flowing water enters a narrow choke point, forcing it to speed up, which creates suction. The new theory comes as the bodies of the last two divers - Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino - were recovered on Wednesday.
A team of expert divers from Finland found their bodies, bringing recovery efforts to an end after the island nation's deadliest diving tragedy. Police and medical personnel hold up a piece of fabric to shield the transfer of the bodies of two Italian divers from a police boat to an ambulance parked at a jetty in Male Harbour, Male City, Maldives, 19 May 2026 The body of Giorgia Sommacal was recovered today Researcher Muriel Oddenino was among the group of five divers who died in the Maldives.
Her body was recovered from a deep-sea cave today Diving tragedy victim Monica Montefalcone, 51, was a respected marine biologist, TV personality, and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa Gianluca Benedetti, 44, was a diving instructor. His body was the first to be found last week Federico Gualtieri, 31, was a researcher and diver among the five who died in the Maldives last week 'The first one has already been lifted onto a support boat.
The second is being brought up by a diver who is observing the decompression stops,' an Italian foreign ministry source said. The group that entered the cave was led by Monica Montefalcone, 51, a University of Genoa professor and marine ecologist who was a regular diver in Maldivian waters in the Indian Ocean, and also included her daughter, Giorgia. The bodies of Montefalcone and university researcher Federico Gualtieri were recovered on Tuesday.
The body of boat captain and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti was the first to be retrieved last week. He was found at the mouth of the Thinwana Kandu cave, also known as Shark Cave, while the other four were located 'pretty much together' in the cavern's third and final chamber. The Finnish diving team has managed to recover the technical equipment used by the Italian divers from the deep-sea crevices of the Alimatha caves.
Investigators are already examining the equipment, including GoPro cameras worn by some of the divers, which officials hope will give them a better understanding of how the tragedy unfolded. They are also probing whether the divers may have become disoriented due to bad weather and poor visibility on the day. The divers were carrying 12-litre oxygen tanks, while Montefalcone was wearing a short diving suit - both unsuitable for the depths at which they were diving.
Authorities are also looking into whether the divers were carrying flashlights and using the 'Ariadne's Thread' - a guide rope required for deep-sea cave expeditions.
Pictured: A Finnish diver conducting a search and recovery operation for the bodies of four Italian tourists in the waters of Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, 19 May 2026 A diver from Finland prepares to take part in a recovery operation for four missing Italian scuba divers who died in an accident in underwater caves near Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, in this handout photo released on May 19, 2026 Maldives National Defence Force military divers are pictured as they prepare to take part in a search and recovery operation for four missing Italian tourists in the waters of Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, 16 May 2026 Meanwhile, Italian investigators are arranging for the bodies of the divers to be repatriated so that they can carry out autopsies to determine the cause of death.
The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip has denied authorising or being aware of the deep dive that violated local limits, its lawyer told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday. Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator 'did not know' the group planned to descend beyond 98ft – the recreational diving limit in the Maldives. That threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities, and the tour operator 'would have never allowed it', she said.
The dive far exceeded what was planned for a scientific cruise focused on coral sampling at standard depths, Stella added. The boat operator of the MV Duke of York, Abdul Muhsin Moosa, said the vessel did have permission for recreational depth of up to 98ft.
'We are sharing these details with the government, as well,' he said, adding that the divers were briefed on arrival at the boat about Maldives' recreational diving limits and that they are not allowed to go beyond 98ft. For recreational dives up to the limit, normal air is compressed with 21 per cent oxygen and 79 per cent nitrogen, but for deeper dives, the oxygen content has to be above 32 per cent, experts said.
For depths reaching at least 164ft, divers are recommended to use at least two cylinders of specialised air each, they said. The victims were experienced divers, but the equipment used appeared to be standard recreational gear rather than technical equipment suited for deep cave excursions, she said.
The recovery of the last two bodies comes after Maldivian rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee died on Saturday from decompression sickness while attempting to recover the bodies, highlighting the difficulties of diving at such a depth. Local authorities were then forced to suspend the search temporarily, prompting Italy to initiate the subsequent international recovery effort. Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, said in interviews to Italian media that his wife would have never put her daughter or others at risk.
He described her as 'one of the best divers in the world' who had carried out about 5,000 dives and was 'always conscientious' and 'never reckless'. Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee, a diver for the Maldives coast guard, lost his life while searching for the bodies on Saturday Read More Mystery of the Maldives cave diver who died separated from group after running out of air 'I’m sorry, I wasn’t there, and I’m no expert, and from what I’m seeing and reading, even the experts don’t have definite answers but are merely making hypotheses – lots of them,' he told Reuters in a WhatsApp message.
Montefalcone, 51, was a respected marine biologist, TV personality, and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa. Her daughter, Giorgia, was 22 years old. Sommacal said on Friday that footage taken on a GoPro camera could reveal the mystery surrounding their deaths. Speaking to Italian news outlet La Repubblica, the devastated husband said: 'Monica usually had a GoPro when she went diving.
'I don't know if she had one the other day. If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened.
' 'She would never have put our daughter's life or that of others at risk... something must have happened down there,' he said. 'Maybe one of them had trouble, maybe the oxygen tanks, I have no idea. ' Montefalcone had survived the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami when it struck the Maldives. Sommacal added that one of the divers on the expedition, Benedetti, was 'meticulous.
' 'He checked everything: the tanks, the weather conditions. He's not a fool,' Sommacal said.
'It must have been fate; they took every precaution possible. ' The grief-stricken father revealed that his daughter Giorgia was going to graduate from university next month and said he and his wife had been planning a party for her. Victim Oddenino, a 31-year-old marine biologist and ecologist, was Montefalcone's colleague. She was an experienced diver and authored scientific publications.
She was described by a loved one as 'sweet and sensitive'. Benedetti, 44, was an operations manager, a diving instructor and a boat captain. After working in banking and finance for several years, he turned his passion for diving into a full-time career and moved to the Maldives in 2017. He was the operations manager and skipper aboard the luxury Duke of York, the diving yacht that the group used for their expedition.
He was described by Albatros Top Boat, the Duke of York's operator, as 'energetic, extremely sporty, and a lover of reading, classic cinema, and chess'. Speaking about her son's death, Benedetti's mother told Italian news outlet Gazzettino: 'I heard the news from the embassy. I can't say anything, and you can only imagine the pain.
' Gualtieri, 31, was a scuba diving instructor and had recently graduated from the University of Genoa with a degree in marine biology and ecology. He had previously praised his professor, Montefalcone, saying: 'Ever since I met her, she has always been my guide, encouraging me to follow my dreams and passions.
' Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialised training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in environments where divers cannot head straight up and at depth, particularly when conditions are poor. Experts say it is easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.
Diving at 164ft also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 131ft considered technical diving and requiring specialised training and equipment. Shareef said that the cave 'is so deep that even divers with the best equipment do not try to approach'.
'There will be a separate investigation into how these divers went below the permitted depth, but our focus right now is on the search and rescue,' he added. Authorities have not ruled out several scenarios, with police probing whether bad weather may have affected the divers' visibility. They may have lost their bearings, panicked, and perhaps run out of air while trying to find their way out.
Members of the Maldives Marine Police and a police boat from the nearby island of Felidhoo during a search and recovery operation in the Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, 16 May 2026 The Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean, is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers, who often stay at secluded resorts or on dive boats Read MoreEXCLUSIVE I've been to the Maldives caves countless times but NEVER into the chamber where the tourists died Police also haven't ruled out the possibility that one of the five may have become stuck while the others ran out of air or panicked trying to free their colleague.
Diving experts have also been speculating on various hypotheses. According to local media, one of the most widely accepted hypotheses by the coast guard and experts is oxygen toxicity. This phenomenon occurs if the tank's mixture is inadequate, making oxygen toxic at certain depths.
'At 50 meters of depth in the sea, there are several risks; it's a real tragedy,' says Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine. 'There are several hypotheses we can make right now: an inadequate breathing mix can create a hyperoxic crisis when there's an increase in the partial pressure of oxygen in the tissues and blood plasma, which can cause neurological problems.
' 'Inside a cave at 50 meters of depth, all it takes is a problem for a diver or a panic attack for a diver,' he adds, saying that 'the agitation causes the water to become cloudy and can impair visibility'. 'In these cases, the panic component could lead to even fatal errors,' he said. It is also unclear whether the Italians' dive, being at a depth of over 160ft, was regulated, according to the MNDF.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that there was no local guide to accompany the group into the cave, as required by Maldivian law. Investigators are also trying to determine whether the group used an 'Ariadne's thread' – a rope used by divers while exploring caves to help them stay close together and find the entrance and exit to the cavities. The use of the rope is mandatory in certain caves.
The Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 500 miles across the equator in the Indian Ocean, is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers, who often stay at secluded resorts or on dive boats. While local regulations allow dives to a maximum depth of 98ft, experienced professionals are known to go deeper. Diving and water-sport-related accidents are relatively rare in the South Asian nation, although several fatal incidents have been reported in recent years.
Maldivian Dive Tragedy Underwater Cave Accident Venturi Effect Current Venturi Current Impact Italian Scuba Divers Lost At Sea
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