Five tourists die in tragic Maldives scuba dive including mum and daughter

Four of the divers were part of a team from the University of Genoa, including respected marine biologist Monica Montefalcone, 51, and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal Five tourists are understood to have died in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives. The group, from Italy, had been exploring underwater caves in the Vaavu Atoll at a depth of around 50 metres on Thursday. Four of the divers were part of a team from the University of Genoa, including respected marine biologist Monica Montefalcone, 51, her daughter and two researchers. Rescuers have already found one body, and a specialist team will be deployed on a ‘high-risk’ mission to recover the others from the cave. It is believed to be the worst single diving accident the South Asian nation – popular with sightseers thanks to its vibrant coral reef system – has seen. Italy’s foreign ministry did not give ‌any ⁠details about the exact cause of ​the ​accident. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. The five divers – named as Ms Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, 20, research fellow Muriel Oddenino, marine biology graduate Federico Gualtieri, and boat operations manager and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti – entered the water on Thursday morning, local reports said. The crew of the ‘luxury’ Duke of York yacht they had been travelling on reported the five missing when they failed to resurface near Alimatha, a popular spot for underwater caving. Four of the divers were part of a team from the University of Genoa, including respected marine biologist Monica Montefalcone Her daughter Giorgia Sommacal also died in the tragedy A major search was launched involving aircraft and speedboats, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said in a statement. ‘One body has been found among five divers who went diving in Vaavu Atoll,’ the agency added. ‘The body was found inside a cave. It is believed that the remaining four divers are also inside the same cave, which extends to a depth of about 60 metres.’ Authorities have not disclosed the identity of the diver whose body has already been found. The MNDF said additional teams with specialist equipment will be sent down for what they described as a dangerous and high-risk operation to recover the remaining bodies. Police have launched an investigation into the tragedy and are exploring several hypotheses surrounding what may have happened. They said the weather was rough in the area. Winds were blowing at up to 30mph, and a yellow warning had been issued for passenger boats and fishermen. The Maldives is one of the world’s most popular diving destinations (Picture: Getty Images) The fact that none of the four divers resurfaced suggests the group may have become lost in an underwater cave, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports. Another possibility is that one of the four got stuck, and the others ran out of air trying to free them. The Maldives is one of the world’s most popular diving destinations, with the Vaavu Atoll famous for night diving and channel diving. Local regulations permit diving to a maximum depth of 30 metres, but experienced professionals are known to go deeper. Diving and snorkelling accidents are relatively rare in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, although several fatalities have been reported in recent years. Last December, an experienced British female tourist drowned in a scuba incident off the island resort of Ellaidhoo. Her 71-year-old husband died days later after falling ill. A 26-year-old Japanese tourist went missing after a diving expedition near the capital Malé in June. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: ‘I love freediving in the Strait of Hormuz – it is where I find inner peace’ News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.