Four Italian divers who died inside an underwater cave system in the Maldives may have mistakenly entered the wrong tunnel and become trapped in a dead-end corridor, according to the head of the company involved in recovering their bodies.
The bodies were recovered by Finnish divers working for Dan Europe after an extensive operation deep inside the cave network, located about 50 metres below sea level in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Speaking to AFP on Thursday, Dan Europe Chief Executive Officer, Laura Marroni, said the bodies were discovered together in a section of the cave believed to be a dead end.
According to Marroni, the layout of the cave suggests the divers may have become disoriented while attempting to exit the underwater system.
The victims included an Italian marine biology professor, her daughter, two young researchers, and their Maldivian guide.
Authorities launched a search operation last Thursday after the group failed to return from the dive.
The cave system reportedly stretches for hundreds of metres through interconnected chambers and narrow underwater passages.
Officials said the guide’s body was found earlier in a large illuminated chamber with a sandy floor during a separate recovery operation conducted by Maldivian authorities.
Investigators explained that a narrow corridor approximately 30 metres long connects the first chamber to a second section of the cave.
According to Marroni, the passage ends near a sandbank that can significantly reduce visibility during attempts to exit the cave.
She said the divers likely missed the correct exit route and instead entered another corridor located to the left of the intended passage.
That corridor, she explained, turned out to be a dead end where the four remaining bodies were eventually discovered.
Marroni noted that the divers had limited air supply at that depth, leaving them with only a few minutes to attempt to locate the correct exit route.
An earlier attempt by the Maldivian National Defence Force to recover the bodies was suspended after one of its rescue divers reportedly died from decompression complications on Saturday.
Following the incident, the Finnish recovery team was brought in to continue the operation.
The team consisted of three highly trained divers responsible for body recovery, operational safety, and documentation of the cave site and recovery process.
Marroni said the divers conducted extensive reconnaissance missions and developed a conservative dive plan because the cave system was largely unfamiliar.
She described the operation as emotionally demanding and highly sensitive due to the responsibility of returning the victims to their families.
The recovery operation was completed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Finnish team returned to the cave on Thursday to remove guide lines and operational equipment used during the mission.
Marroni said all evidence gathered during the operation, including photos and videos, would be handed over to Maldivian authorities as part of the ongoing investigation.
Authorities are also investigating how the tourists were permitted to dive to a depth of about 60 metres despite the Maldives’ maximum permitted recreational diving depth of 30 metres for tourists.
