The bodies of four Italian divers who went missing during a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been located, officials have confirmed to the BBC. The Italians were found inside a 60-metre-deep (197ft) cave in Vaavu Atoll by a joint team of highly trained Finnish and Maldivian divers. The body of a fifth Italian diver, a member of the group, had already been recovered shortly after Thursday's accident.
A Maldivian rescue diver also died on Saturday while searching for the bodies of the group. It is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.
Further dives [are] to be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies, Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, said in a message to the BBC.
Two of the bodies would be recovered on Tuesday and the remaining two the following day, he said.
Italy's foreign ministry said the four bodies were located in the cave's third section - the furthest from the entrance - and that additional dives would be needed to recover them. The mouth of the cave is 47 metres below the surface.
The group entered the water at Vaavu Atoll on Thursday morning and were reported missing when they failed to resurface later on. Please note that police stated the weather was rough in the area, about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Male, when the group went missing. A yellow warning was issued for passenger boats and fishermen.
Shareef said the group had permission to study the coral, including deep dives, but added that there was no mention of the cave in their proposal. An investigation is ongoing to establish the cause of the accident, as well as clarifying the circumstances regarding the lack of authorization for deep-sea diving that led to the tragic deaths.}
A Maldivian rescue diver also died on Saturday while searching for the bodies of the group. It is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.
Further dives [are] to be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies, Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, said in a message to the BBC.
Two of the bodies would be recovered on Tuesday and the remaining two the following day, he said.
Italy's foreign ministry said the four bodies were located in the cave's third section - the furthest from the entrance - and that additional dives would be needed to recover them. The mouth of the cave is 47 metres below the surface.
The group entered the water at Vaavu Atoll on Thursday morning and were reported missing when they failed to resurface later on. Please note that police stated the weather was rough in the area, about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Male, when the group went missing. A yellow warning was issued for passenger boats and fishermen.
Shareef said the group had permission to study the coral, including deep dives, but added that there was no mention of the cave in their proposal. An investigation is ongoing to establish the cause of the accident, as well as clarifying the circumstances regarding the lack of authorization for deep-sea diving that led to the tragic deaths.}
