A GRIEVING widower has recalled his wife’s tragic death in the Maldives – with the 1983 case bearing chilling similarities to the deaths of five Italian divers last week.
Giorgio Bettin told how his newly-wed partner, Anna Maria Pistolato, disappeared during a – before her body was found unrecognisable weeks later.
An Italian diver died 43 years ago near the same cave in the Vaavu Atoll Credit: youtube/Neva Divers
Gianluca Benedetti, from Paduan, died in the Maldives last week Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
On January 11, 1983, Giorgio’s wife, aged 28, decided to go on a diving expedition with five others, while her husband stayed on the boat.
Last week’s that Anna Maria was over four decades ago.
She was even from the exact same town of Padua as one of the victims, Gianluca Benedetti.
In both cases, the divers are allow.
The eerily similar disasters which took place in the exact same location have shaken Giorgio to the core, he said.
The pianist told Il Gazzettino: “I wasn’t as passionate as her; at most I’d go down a few metres, but from that day on, I’ve never done it again… We loved each other very much.”
He continued: “It was supposed to be a short dive , but I never saw my wife alive again.
“The plan was to go down to a maximum of 20 metres, then I learned that they had gone down to at least 54 metres.”
Rescue workers in the Maldives after five Italian divers went missing last week Credit: Reuters
The five Italians who died last Thursday are also understood to have descended to depths of nearly 60 metres – much below local limitations.
Anna Maria’s remains were found 20 days after she was reported missing, and her body was said to be unrecognisable.
One of the people she went on the doomed excursion with was ordered to pay Giorgio compensation, a punishment he said he “didn’t care about”.
He added: “The of the five divers, including that of Paduan Gianluca, took me back to those days.
“I still feel indescribable sadness, and knowing it happened in the exact same spot, even if not in the cave, is disturbing.”
Describing the horrifying aftermath of the tragedy, he said: “That day changed my life forever.
“I was never the same again, and it took years to recover.”
He also said he “definitely” be attending Gianluca’s funeral as he knows exactly what the Paduan’s family will be going through.
One of the three Finnish divers who helped recover the bodies of tragic Italian divers Credit: Reuters
The tragic tourists who died on Thursday before being recovered over the last few days include Monica Montefalcone, a marine biology professor; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; two young researchers, Federico Gualtieri and Muriel Oddenino; and their guide, Gianluca.
It comes after a hero diver who recovered four of the Italians revealed chilling details on the “breathing” cave the group were found in.
Sami Paakkarinen, one of three Finnish rescue divers who helped retrieve the bodies, also rejected a leading theory on the mystery-shrouded disaster.
The highly experienced diver, who can reach depths of 460ft, said it was impossible that the group was sucked into the shark-infested cave.
He told Italian paper Corriere della Sera: “It’s a huge cave, but it’s not possible they were sucked in.”
The comments come after one popular theory floated by Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine.
He previously told Italian outlet Adnkronos that the five holidaymakers may have been caught out while checking out the cave for future dives.
Bolognini suggested that the group may have been sucked into the cavern complex by a strong current caused by the site’s unique entrance.
Diver Mohamed Mahdhee died during the rescue operation Credit: MALDIVES GOV/UNPIXS
Muriel Oddenino was one of the five tragic Italians who died last week Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
The cave’s narrow pathway may have created a “Venturi effect” where fluid must speed up to maintain a constant flow, causing a pressure drop and creating a vacuum.
Addressing the theory, Paakkarinen said he could only comment based on his personal experiences diving.
He said: “The water moves in one direction for 12 hours and then in the opposite direction for another 12… Continuous currents.”
The expert added that currents are “very predictable” in coral reefs.
He added that when the rescue team entered the cave, the trio felt a “very light current inside it”.
“It’s true that there is a current going in and out of the cave,” the pro-diver said.
“The cave, so to speak, is breathing. But it’s really not very strong. It couldn’t have sucked anyone in.”
Paakkarinen also revealed that the Dhekunu Kandu cave has “never been mapped”, and said that descending to such depths required “a different type of equipment and approach”.
It comes after the Finnish divers said a “sand wall illusion” could have been behind the disaster.
The Italians could have taken the wrong turn while trying to navigate out of “shark cave”, the pro-divers working under research organisation Dan have suggested.
Giorgia’s heartbroken boyfriend has broken his silence – revealing he sent a message to her just moments before she decided to go in the water.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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