Bodies of 2 Italian divers are recovered from deep in a Maldives underwater cave

The five Italians had been exploring a cave in Vaavu Atoll. Initial teams had dived to identify and mark the entrance system where they disappeared.

The cave has been dived in the past by local experts and foreign divers, presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef told The Associated Press.

While the divers had a permit, authorities didn’t know from their proposal the exact location of the cave they were exploring, and at least two of the dead were not on the list of researchers that had been submitted, “so we didn’t know they were part of the expedition,” Shareef said.

“Actually a very challenging dive, you know,” he added. “Number one, because of the depth, number two, because of actual terrain, because that specific channel has strong currents, strong downdrafts down toward, and the conditions down there, the visibility, for example, once you enter the cave would be almost zero.”

He said the weather was challenging, with an alert having been issued, and investigators must determine whether the divers took adequate precautions.

The Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which deployed the Finnish divers, described them as technical and cave divers with experience in search and recovery missions, including operations in “deep overhead environments, confined spaces and high-risk scenarios.”

The team is using closed-circuit rebreathers, a system that recycles exhaled breathing gas and removes carbon dioxide through a chemical scrubber, allowing for “significantly longer dives,” the organization said.

Shareef said the Maldives has a strong reputation and infrastructure for safe diving and called the incident unfortunate and tragic, but noted the difference between this kind of technical diving and the recreational kind that many visitors enjoy.

The cause of death of the Maldivian military diver was still under investigation, but colleagues have suggested he may have died from nitrogen narcosis or decompression at depth.

___

Ganguly reported from New Delhi.

Mohamed Sharuhaan And Shonal Ganguly, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Bodies of 2 Italian divers are recovered from deep in a Maldives underwater cave

What's Trending