Italian scuba divers who died in Maldives ‘may have taken wrong turn’ upon cave exit, expert says

Travel
22 May 2026 • 5:03 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Italian scuba divers who died in Maldives ‘may have taken wrong turn’ upon cave exit, expert says

  • Five Italian divers died while exploring deep-sea caves in the Maldives, with the final two bodies recovered this week, a week after the incident.
  • The accident, thought to be the deadliest of its kind in the Maldives, occurred in a cave in Vaavu Atoll, where the divers disappeared last Thursday.
  • Finnish rescue divers and professionals from Dan Europe recovered the bodies, finding two inside a cave 60 metres deep in a dead-end corridor.
  • A new theory suggests the divers may have taken a wrong turn into a dead-end passage while attempting to exit the complex cave system, which has challenging conditions and limited visibility.
  • The group, led by marine ecologist Monica Montefalcone, included her daughter, two other students, and a diving instructor, with Maldivian authorities continuing their investigation into the cause.

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