Footage dating back to 2014 has resurfaced showing the location where five Italian scuba divers later died in a fatal cave diving expedition earlier this month.
In the clip obtained by CBS News, a diver is seen using a flashlight to navigate a nearly 100-foot-long underwater cavern in Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, showing the challenging conditions within the submerged system.
According to multiple media reports, the five divers, Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, went missing while exploring a cave system about 50 metres (160 feet) deep in Vaavu Atoll on May 14, 2026.
AP News reports that Benedetti’s body was recovered near the cave entrance shortly after the group was reported missing and repatriated to Italy.
The search and recovery operation faced immediate challenges and was briefly suspended after a Maldivian military diver, Mohamed Mahudhee, died during the mission.
Three specialist cave and deep-water divers from Finland were later deployed to assist in the recovery effort.
They ultimately located the remaining four bodies in the deepest section of the cave system, at about 60 metres (200 feet) below the surface, a depth that exceeds standard recreational diving safety limits of 30 metres (98 feet) in the Maldives.
“The divers are believed to have died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft) in Vaavu Atoll,” the Italian foreign ministry told the BBC.
The bodies of the four Italians were flown back to Italy on May 23, with caskets arriving at Milan Malpensa Airport before being transferred for examination.
Post-mortem analysis was conducted on May 25, though official findings have not been made public.
Speaking to La Repubblica, Carlo Sommacal, husband of Monica Montefalcone, described her as one of the world’s most accomplished divers, adding that he did not believe she would have knowingly placed their daughter in danger.
He speculated on possible causes, saying, “Maybe one of them had issues, maybe with the oxygen tanks, I have no idea.”
Diving expert Maurizio Uras told Italian agency AGI that deep-water conditions can present multiple hazards, including oxygen toxicity at depth and unpredictable currents in the Indian Ocean.
“If the oxygen mix is inadequate, oxygen can become toxic at certain depths. Weather conditions are also an important factor… there are strong currents which I imagine can pull from one side to the other. A real danger.”
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