Overview
- Three Finnish Divers Alert Network specialists arrived Sunday to join Maldivian forces in re‑planning the recovery, with more expert gear expected from Australia and the United Kingdom.
- Five Italian divers vanished during a deep cave dive Thursday near Vaavu Atoll, and only instructor Gianluca Benedetti has been recovered at the cave mouth.
- Sgt. Major Mohamed Mahudhee of the Maldivian military died Saturday from decompression complications during the mission, which led authorities to pause dives and honor him with a military funeral in Malé.
- Officials opened an investigation and suspended the expedition vessel’s license, while tour operator Albatros Top Boat said it never authorized dives beyond the local 30‑meter limit and noted the group used recreational gear.
- Rescuers describe a 50–70 meter‑deep cave with narrow passages, strong currents, pitch‑black conditions, and tight three‑hour dive windows, in what officials call the country’s deadliest diving accident in a tourism‑reliant archipelago.