A lifeboat searching for the bodies.Image: keystone
May 18, 2026, 1:01 p.mMay 18, 2026, 1:37 p.m
After the diving accident in the Maldives, the bodies of four Italians were found in a sea cave, the Italian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday. Further dives to recover the bodies will be carried out in the next few days.
The search operation lasted several days and had to be interrupted at times. A Maldivian rescue diver died at the weekend.
The bodies of the four missing Italian divers were located in the third section of the cave at Cave Dive dive site in Vaavu Atoll, according to Maldivian authorities.
A total of five Italians died in a diving accident last week. One body has already been recovered, but the search for the other four bodies was complicated. The exact cause of the accident and the circumstances surrounding the death of the five Italians remain the subject of investigations by local authorities in the Maldives.
Maldives popular holiday destination for foreign tourists
The Maldives is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka. The islands of the archipelago attract many international holidaymakers with their idyllic white sandy beaches. The Maldives and their coral reefs are also a popular destination for snorkelers and divers from abroad.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the Italians explored a cave with several chambers connected by narrow passages at a depth of about 50 meters. According to media reports, the group was only allowed to dive to a depth of around 30 meters. A special permit is required for deeper dives in the Maldives, which the diving group apparently did not have. (hkl/sda/dpa)