A FORMER military diver has claimed that “rules were broken” in the high-risk cave dive that killed five Italians – as the desperate search for bodies enters its fourth day.
Shafraz Naeem, a veteran of the Maldives National Defence Force, has revealed chilling details about the perilous dive and raised questions about the trip.
Five Italian scuba divers – as part of research team for the University of Genoa – were exploring a series of caves up to 200ft underwater when they disappeared.
It has since been revealed that the Duke of York yacht, from which they launched the expedition, did not have a permit allowing dives of more than 100ft.
Albatros Top Boat – the tour operator that sold the diving cruise package – has had its license suspended in the wake of the tragedy and said it did not authorise a dive of that depth.
Naeem has shared that only highly-experienced crews can pull off the tricky dive.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and National Defense Force members pay tribute to the late hero
“I’ve done at least 50 dives in the Alimatha caves, taking the right precautions and using the right equipment,” he said, according to Il Giornale.
“Each time it was a fantastic experience, but I was fully aware of the
extreme risks I was taking.
“Expertise and precaution are necessary: for me, descending to Alimatha wasn’t difficult. I’m a cave diver, and I always had the right gas mix, the right equipment, and a backup system.”
Naeem has questioned why the group were allowed on the mission in the first place.
He said: “The authorities have confirmed that the operator exceeded the Maldives’ recreational depth limit of 30 meters and conducted the dives without the necessary permits.
“Everyone knows the rules were broken; they didn’t even have a permit to conduct research at those depths.”
The ex-diver is very familiar with the caves and described the complex series of tunnels.
The entrance to the cave alone is between 180 to 190 feet – nearly double what the permit allowed, and extends down to 330 feet.
It forks into different tunnels, and soon becomes pitch-black.
“Even the most experienced divers can face considerable challenges in such environments,” Naeem explained.
He believes that the Italian team died due to a combination of factors and stressed that just one “unexpected event can quickly turn into tragedy” at those depths.
But he clarified: “It would be irresponsible to state precisely what happened without a thorough investigation.”
The divers were led by the highly-experienced diver and renowned marine biologist Monica Montefalcone and boat captain Gianluca Benedetti.
They were joined by Monica’s daughter Giorgia Sommacal, researcher Muriel Oddenino and marine biologist Federico Gualtieri.
Benedetti’s body is the only one to be discovered thus far – having been found with an empty oxygen tank on Thursday evening, around six hours after the first alarm was raised.
Monica’s husband Carlo Sommacal fiercely defended his wife against any suggestion of responsibility.
He said his Monica was an “expert” who had done over 5,000 dives and “knows what to do even in times of difficulty”.
Carlo told La Repubblica daily: “She would never have put her daughter’s life or the lives of the other children at risk out of recklessness.
“Something happened down there.”
An expert team of Finnish divers have now been deployed as efforts to recover the remaining bodies ramp up.
A Maldivian diver died on the third-day of the high-stakes search operation, underlining the risk involved.
Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahdi was one of eight divers on the mission.
The Coast Guard member reportedly fell ill on the mission on Saturday and was rushed to hospital where he died.
Announcing the news on X, the Maldivian military said: “His courage, sacrifice, and service to the nation will always be remembered. Our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.”
Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said: “These painful days for Italy are even worse after news that a courageous serviceman, Sergeant Mohammed Mahdi, died following an attempt to reach the bodies of our countrymen.
“This tragedy has united Italy and the Maldives in our sorrow and respect for the victims.”
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