A Maldivian military diver died today while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep in an underwater cave.
A group of five Italian divers are believed to have died while exploring a cave about 50 meters deep off the atoll of Vaavu on Thursday, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
The depth limit for recreational diving in the Maldives is 30 meters.
Diving to 50 meters exceeds the maximum depth recommended by most major diving agencies, with depths over 40 meters considered technical diving and requiring specialized training and equipment.
Maldives President Mohamed Hussein Sharif's spokesman said that a member of the Maldives Defense Forces, Mohamed Mahudi, died of underwater decompression sickness after being taken to a hospital in the capital.
He added that an Italian deep-sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert are expected to join the search.
The storm repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that everything possible would be done to bring the victims home.
The Italian Foreign Ministry says the cave is divided into three large sections connected by narrow passages, and that rescue teams are currently exploring the third, final section.
The Maldives government said the missing divers were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, her student daughter Giorgia Somakal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Odenino and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, whose body was found on Thursday.
Montefalcone and Odenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor the marine environment and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said.
The university stated that the diving activity during which the accident occurred was not part of a planned research project and was undertaken privately.
A statement from the University said that Somakal and recent graduate Gualtieri were not part of the scientific mission.
Italian officials said about 20 other Italians who were on the same expedition aboard the Duke of York were safe.
The Maldives Ministry of Tourism said the ship's operating license had been suspended while an investigation was underway.
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