THE murky “shark cave” where five Italian divers were tragically killed in the Maldives has been seen in haunting footage – as new theories behind their deaths emerge.
Four bodies were found at a depth of 160ft on Monday following a gruelling search operation by expert Finnish divers.
A diver swimming through the gloom in search of the victim’s bodies Credit: youtube/Neva Divers
Five Italians were found at a depth of 160ft in ‘shark’s cave’ in the Maldives Credit: youtube/Neva Divers
The other victim was discovered on Thursday.
Chilling footage has shown the inside of the Thinwana Kandu cave – locally referred to as “Shark Cave”.
It is located about 60 miles from the capital Male, is about 60 metres long and is divided into three chambers.
In the terrifying clip, a diver traverses a series of narrow winding passages inside the structure.
The cave appears to be devoid of life – aside from one lone sting ray hovering around the eerie complex.
The bodies of Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri and researcher Muriel Oddenino were found on Monday.
Diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti had been found on Thursday shortly after the group were reported missing.
An American hobby diver has also speculated that the five deaths were caused by “either group suicide or murder”.
The diver division of the Maldives National Defence Force preparing to dive in search of the bodies on Saturday Credit: EPA
One military diver tragically died on Saturday searching for the bodies Credit: Reuters
Self-described deep-sea diver Marc Randazza said on X: “I’ve been diving for 30 years. Rescue and deep dive certified.
“These divers were effectively dead the moment they went in the water.
“At 150 feet, with recreational gear and without a special mix, you’re already dead.”
He said there was “no possible way” the divers would have survived those depths “whether they panicked or not”.
Randazza added: “That dive plan was never going to end with any of them alive.”
The elite unit of Sami Paakkarinen, Jenni Westerlund, and Patrik Grönqvist after Maldivian authorities recovered one of them on Thursday, ‘s foreign ministry said.
The bodies have been found but a recovery mission will take place over the next few days.
A Maldivian government spokesperson told BBC: “Further dives [are] to be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies.”
Divers have been instructed to immediately turn back if they encounter difficulties Credit: youtube/Neva Divers
On an earlier mission, one Maldivian diver lost his life searching for the bodies Credit: youtube/Neva Divers
They also said specialised equipment for the recovery is being provided by the UK and – to be used alongside underwater scooters and gas tanks which can recycle air.
Each attempt to dive and retrieve the bodies lasts about three hours – and it is immediately aborted if any obstacles are encountered.
Expert divers have already .
But now the more difficult task of bringing them back to land is underway.
Maldivian authorities are expected to recover two of the four bodies on Tuesday, and another pair on Wednesday.
DAN , the diving safety organisation in charge of the operation, said: “DAN Europe confirms that the international search & recovery team deployed to the Maldives has successfully completed the first operational objective of the mission following today’s initial technical cave dive at the Dhekunu Kandu site, in Vaavu Atoll.”
They added: “This marks an important milestone in an operation that remains technically demanding, emotionally challenging, and operationally complex.”
They said that the coming days “will be dedicated to the highly delicate recovery procedures”.
Monica’s daughter Giorgia Sommacal was one of the victims Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
University researcher Muriel Oddenino was also on the dive Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
The body of diving instructor and boat captain Gianluca Padua has been recovered Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
Recovery teams are still trying to bring back the body of Federico Gualtieri Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
The unit, which was assembled in 48 hours and dispatched by DAN , searched the Alimatha cave complex near the Vaavu Atoll.
Paakkarinen, who has been cave diving since 2004, and Grönqvist, gained international renown for their role in recovering surviving divers in the 2014 Plura incident in Norway.
The elite Finnish team can dive to depths of nearly 500ft – a key skill which helped them locate the tourists.
But the mission is incredibly dangerous.
On Saturday a lost his life trying to recover the bodies – bringing the total death toll to six.
He died from decompression illness – when bubbles form in the bloodstream from coming out of water too quickly.
The Italian foreign ministry are still investigating the cause of death for the five Italian divers.
There were 20 other tourists on the Duke of York when the five Italians departed the vessel before going missing.
They have all returned to Italy following the terrifying ordeal.
But it has since emerged that the Duke of York yacht did not have a permit allowing dives of more than 100ft.
The Italian team were found at a depth of 160ft – in clear breach of the rules.
Shafraz Naeem, a veteran of the Maldives National Defence Force, has can descend to such depths.
The ex-military diver said: “I’ve done at least 50 dives in the Alimatha caves, taking the right precautions and using the right equipment,” he said, according to .
“Each time it was a fantastic experience, but I was fully aware of the
extreme risks I was taking.
“Expertise and precaution are necessary: for me, descending to Alimatha wasn’t difficult. I’m a cave diver, and I always had the right gas mix, the right equipment, and a backup system.”
Naeem has questioned why the group were allowed on the mission in the first place.
At such depths he stressed that just one “unexpected event can quickly turn into tragedy”.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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