Italy’s foreign minister says divers found bodies of 4 Italians in Maldives sea cave

He said the four were found “pretty much together.”

“The plan is they will try and recover two bodies tomorrow and possibly the other two the following day,” Shaam said in a voice clip sent to the media.

The Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which deployed the three Finnish divers, said on its website that they are technical and cave divers with international experience in search and recovery missions, including operations in “deep overhead environments, confined spaces, and high-risk scenarios.”

The team used advanced technical systems, including 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 explained.

The body of a fifth Italian — a diving instructor — was found earlier outside the cave. The five were exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet).

Three Finnish divers, experts in deep and cave diving arrived in the Maldives on Sunday.

Maldives presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef said earlier that the search was suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital on Saturday.

Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.

Initial teams had already dived to identify and mark the entrance to the cave system where the Italians disappeared. The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.

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Zampano reported from Rome. Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka contributed.

Mohamed Sharuhaan And Giada Zampano, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Italy’s foreign minister says divers found bodies of 4 Italians in Maldives sea cave

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