Overview
- A group of five experienced Italian divers entered the Dhevana Kandu cave in Vaavu Atoll and went missing on Thursday, May 14, and the instructor was found the same day near the cave entrance.
- An international technical recovery led by Divers Alert Network Europe and three Finnish cave divers concluded on May 20 when the last two bodies were brought to the surface.
- Rescue teams recovered the bodies from a deep third chamber about 55–60 meters down using rebreathers, underwater scooters and redundant life‑support systems, and a Maldivian military diver died earlier during search efforts.
- Maldivian authorities suspended the Duke of York operator licence and opened an inquiry while Rome prosecutors also launched an investigation; dive computers and other equipment have been seized for forensic analysis.
- Investigators are examining multiple possible causes such as strong currents including a proposed Venturi effect, narcosis, equipment or breathing‑gas failure, and disorientation inside the cave, with findings to shape safety and regulatory scrutiny of deep cave diving.