Overview
- Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed the deaths after search teams found bodies inside an underwater cavity near Vaavu Atoll.
- Maldivian defense forces believe four victims remain in the same roughly 60-meter cavity and warn further access is extremely dangerous.
- The first recovered body was identified as Gianluca Benedetti, a diving instructor from the Veneto region.
- The University of Genoa confirmed victim Monica Montefalcone, and Italian media report her 23-year-old daughter, Giorgia Sommaca, was in the group.
- The divers were aboard the liveaboard Duke of York, which supports closed-circuit rebreather dives, and investigators are reviewing conditions after a yellow alert for strong winds in the area.