ELITE divers have resumed a gruelling operation to recover five Italian tourists – amid a desperate scramble to stop sharks eating their bodies.
The perilous mission to recover the missing divers – which has been hampered by severe weather – has already left one rescue worker dead.
Picture taken by Sami Paakkarinen, an elite diver who has been deployed to the Maldives
Search boats pictured during the gruelling recovery mission Credit: EPA
Muriel Oddenino, one of the five Italian divers, is yet to be found Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
On Monday, three Finnish cave divers joined the high-risk recovery operation, which has so far only located one body.
Sami Paakkarinen, Jenni Westerlund, and Patrik Grönqvist have now arrived in the paradise archipelago to help local authorities.
The elite trio can dive to depths of nearly 500ft, giving them much more flexibility to search the difficult cave complex.
The unit, which was assembled in 48 hours and dispatched by DAN Europe – a diving safety organisation – will be searching the Alimatha cave complex near the Vaavu Atoll.
Finnish diver Sami Paakkarinen has flown to the Maldives Credit: Monami Agency
Monica Montefalcone died in the tragedy Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
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 divers have worked on some of the world’s most difficult missions.
Laura Marroni, CEO of the European diving network, told La Stampa: “We’ll bring them back. We can’t leave them at the mercy of the . We need experts here.”
The one body that has been recovered was found in Thinwana Kandu cave, also known as the “Shark Cave”.
Giorgia Sommacal and her mum Monica died in the tragedy Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
Rescue workers pictured during the search operation Credit: EPA
Fears are mounting that the remaining four holidaymakers may be scavenged before recovery workers reach them.
There were 20 other tourists on the Duke of York yacht when the tragedy unfolded.
The group have now returned home after landing at Malpensa Airport in Italy.
They departed from the capital, Malé, and stopped in Dubai before arriving in Italy.
Maldivian National Defense Force members carry the remains of military diver Mohamed Mahudhee who died during search and rescue operation Credit: AP
The five divers went missing in the Maldives Credit: Shutterstock
So far, only one body of the five Italian divers has been recovered on Friday, Maldivian authorities confirmed.
They said: “The body was recovered from about 60 metres deep from inside a cave structure.”
Authorities added: “It is assumed that the rest of the divers would also be inside this cave which is about 200 feet in length.”
on Thursday morning – with only one body recovered so far.
Gianluca Benedetti was one of the five divers Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
Federico Gualtieri’s body has been found Credit: UGC/UNPIXS
The divers were led by the highly-experienced diver and renowned marine biologist Monica Montefalcone and boat captain Gianluca Benedetti.
They were joined by Monica’s daughter Giorgia Sommacal, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and marine biologist Federico Gualtieri.
The on Saturday highlighted the mission’s extreme danger – with the total death toll rising to six.
Sergeant-major Mohamed Mahudhee, died on Saturday from decompression illness, prompting the MNDF to temporarily suspend the recovery effort which has been taking place in rough weather and sea conditions.
It has since been revealed that the Duke of York yacht, from which they launched the expedition, did not have a permit allowing dives of more than 100ft.
A former military diver in the high-risk cave – questioning why the group were allowed on the mission in the first place.
Shafraz Naeem, a veteran of the National Defence Force, said: “The authorities have confirmed that the operator exceeded the Maldives’ recreational depth limit of 30 metres and conducted the dives without the necessary permits.
“Everyone knows the rules were broken; they didn’t even have a permit to conduct research at those depths.”
The ex-diver is very familiar with the caves and described the complex series of tunnels.
The entrance to the cave is between 180 to 190ft, nearly double what the permit allowed, and extends down to 330ft.
It forks into different tunnels, and soon becomes pitch-black.
Naeem said: “Even the most experienced divers can face considerable challenges in such environments.”
He believes that the Italian team died due to a combination of factors and stressed that just one “unexpected event can quickly turn into tragedy” at those depths.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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