The bodies of two Italians who drowned in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been brought to the surface, local officials have reported.
They were retrieved from the third chamber of the underwater cave by specialist divers from Finland following a two-hour operation, as detailed by Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson.
The two bodies were transported to the capital, Male, for identification. Tragically, they were among five people who lost their lives in the incident, with two bodies still remaining inside the cave.
The first diver, identified as Gianluca Benedetti, a diving instructor and boat operations manager, was recovered shortly after the accident that occurred near Vaavu Atoll.
Additionally, a Maldivian rescue diver lost his life while searching for the missing divers.
The remaining two missing divers were discovered on Monday by a team of Finnish divers, located in a chamber of the cave known as shark cave, which reaches depths of up to 60 meters.
Efforts to recover the last two bodies will continue on Wednesday, with officials remaining hopeful for a successful retrieval on the same day. The recovery operation has been complicated due to the cave's depth and challenging visibility conditions.
The divers had a permit to dive up to 50 meters, but did not disclose their intentions to enter the cave in the proposal submitted to Maldivian authorities.
This unfortunate incident has raised concerns regarding the safety protocols and permissions associated with deep-sea dives, especially given the rough weather conditions present at the time of the dive, which prompted a yellow warning for boats and fishermen.
