Five Italians die during cave scuba dive in Maldives

Four of the Italians were part of a team from the University of Genoa. Five Italians die during cave scuba dive in Maldives Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Monica Montefalcone, 51, was part of the University of Genoa team who were taking part in the dive Five Italians have died in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives, the foreign ministry in Rome has said. "The divers are believed to have died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft)," the ministry said, adding that this happened in Vaavu Atoll. Four of the divers were part of a University of Genoa team, including professor of ecology Monica Montefalcone, her daughter and two researchers. The Maldives' military said one body had been found in a cave about 60m underwater, and the other four divers were believed to be also there. It said divers with special equipment had been sent to the area, describing a search operation as a very high risk. The incident is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands. The five Italians entered the water on Thursday morning, local media reported. The crew of the diving vessel they were travelling on reported them missing when they failed to resurface later on. Police said the weather was rough in the area, about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital Malé. A yellow warning was issued for passenger boats and fishermen. The University of Genoa later named the victims as Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, who was also a student, research fellow Muriel Oddenino and marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri. The fifth victim has been named as boat operations manager and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti. In a statement on X, the university expressed its "deepest condolences" to the victims. Diving and snorkelling accidents are relatively rare in the Maldives, although several fatalities have been reported in recent years. Last December, an experienced British female diver drowned in a scuba incident off the island resort of Ellaidhoo. Her husband died five days later after falling ill. an experienced British female diver drowned in a scuba incident off the island resort of Ellaidhoo. Her husband died five days later after falling ill. In 2024, a Japanese lawmaker died while snorkelling in Lhaviyani Atoll. Corals near one of the Maldives' islands. File photo The Maldives is threatening international legal action to press its claim for control of the Chagos Islands. Darren and Natalie Chetkowski from Yateley landed in Doha on Saturday returning from the Maldives. Anyone born on or after 1 January 2007 will be banned from using, buying or selling tobacco products in the archipelago. Vote comes a week after lawmakers ousted the nation's former pro-China prime minister. Trump has landed in Beijing for the first visit by a US leader since his own in 2017. Gunshots rang out sparking chaos in the Senate building where Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa had sought refuge. The secret police station, located above a ramen stall in NYC, is one of at least 100 such facilities that have been reported across 53 countries. The school's caretaker is thought to have abused as many as 50 female students, many of them orphans.