The search for five Italian divers who disappeared inside underwater caves in the Maldives has taken an even more tragic turn after a Maldivian Coast Guard diver died during recovery efforts.
The deaths of five Italian divers in a scuba diving accident last Thursday in Vaavu Atoll, part of the Indian Ocean archipelago, shocked both Italy and the diving community around the world.
Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahdi lost his life on Saturday while taking part in the operation in Vaavu Atoll, where teams have been searching for the missing divers since Thursday. He was part of an eight-person recovery crew working inside the dangerous underwater cave system when he reportedly became ill during the dive.
According to Maldivian Presidential Spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef, Mahdi later died from “underwater decompression sickness” after being rushed to a hospital, according to VT.
Maldives scuba diving tragedy
In a statement shared on X, the Maldivian military honored Mahdi’s sacrifice, writing: “His courage, sacrifice, and service to the nation will always be remembered. Our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.”
The Italian divers vanished Thursday morning after entering caves believed to be located around 200 feet underwater. When they failed to resurface, a major rescue and recovery mission was launched.
As investigators continue working to determine exactly what happened inside the cave system, several diving and medical experts have weighed in on possible causes of the tragedy, including oxygen toxicity and panic underwater.
Pulmonologist Claudio Micheletto told Italian news agency Adnkronos: “It’s likely that something went wrong with the tanks.”
He continued: “Death from oxygen toxicity, or hyperoxia, is one of the most dramatic deaths that can occur during a dive – a horrible end.”
Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, also stated: “Inside a cave at a depth of 50 meters, all it takes is a problem for a diver or a panic attack for a diver.”
“Something must have happened down there”
Among the missing divers were four people connected to the University of Genoa: marine biology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and marine biologist Federico Gualtieri.
The fifth diver was Gianluca Benedetti, an experienced instructor and boat captain. His body was discovered Thursday evening next to an empty oxygen tank.
As loved ones search for answers, Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, revealed that his wife often brought a GoPro camera during dives – something he hopes could eventually help investigators understand what happened underwater.
“Monica usually had a GoPro when she went diving.
“I don’t know if she had one the other day. If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened.”
He also spoke about his wife’s experience as a diver and suggested something unexpected must have gone wrong during the expedition.
“My wife [was] among the best divers on earth. She would never have put our daughter’s life or that of others at risk… something must have happened down there.
“Maybe one of them had trouble, maybe the oxygen tanks, I have no idea.”
Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed that recovery operations resumed after rough weather temporarily forced search crews to pause efforts.
“Eight Maldivian divers are currently taking turns in the search operations,” the ministry said. “The first two divers have already gone underwater to locate and precisely mark the entrance to the series of caves where the Italian divers went missing.”
It added: “Six more divers will subsequently dive, in various shifts, to try to locate the bodies and bring them to the surface.”
The investigation is ongoing.
ސާޖަންޓް ފަސްޓް ކުލާސް މުޙައްމަދު މަހުދީގެ ޖަނާޒާ ސިފައިންގެ ރަސްމީ ޢިއްޒަތުގައި މިރޭ ބާއްވާނެ.https://t.co/VsvplJg54L pic.twitter.com/Su5vqT8CYJ
— Maldives National Defence Force (@MNDF_Official) May 16, 2026
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