The bodies of two Italians who drowned in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been brought to the surface, local officials have reported.
The bodies were retrieved from the third chamber of the underwater cave by specialist Finnish divers after a two-hour operation, according to Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson.
The two bodies are being transported to the capital, Male, for identification. They were among five individuals who tragically died in the incident, with two more bodies still unaccounted for.
The first body, identified as Gianluca Benedetti, a diving instructor and boat operations manager, was recovered shortly after the accident, which occurred near Vaavu Atoll.
Complicating the recovery further, a Maldivian rescue diver died during efforts to locate the bodies of the missing divers.
Four divers were eventually found by Finnish divers on Monday in the deepest chamber of the cave, known as shark cave, which reaches depths of up to 60 meters (197 feet).
Rescue efforts are set to continue on Wednesday in hopes of retrieving the remaining two bodies. There is a strong desire to discover the bodies, as they may provide hints regarding the cause of the accident. The recovery mission has been classified as complex due to the cave's depth and limited visibility.
The Finnish divers collaborated with local police and coastguard, having brought the two bodies up to 30 meters, where coastguard divers took over.
Prior to the dive, the weather was reported to be rough, leading to the issuance of a yellow warning for boats and fishermen.
It was later revealed that four of the divers were associated with the University of Genoa, which denied approval for deep-sea diving as part of their scientific mission. The university stated that the requests made to Maldivian authorities were outside the limits of its authorized mission, emphasizing that the exploration was conducted in a personal capacity.
The university has since suspended authorization for any dives for scientific purposes, and is in the process of developing new internal protocols to ensure compliance with future regulations regarding underwater exploration.
Among the deceased divers were Giorgia Sommacal, her mother Monica Montefalcone, and the diving instructor Benedetti. The father of Giorgia has criticized the university's claim regarding the lack of authorization for the dive, asserting that Montefalcone is an expert in the field of marine ecology.
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