Five Italian divers died while exploring a deep underwater cave in the Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, on Thursday May 15, 2026, in what local authorities have called the worst single diving accident in the history of the island nation. A sixth person, a Maldivian military diver, has since died attempting to recover their bodies.
The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti. The group had been on a morning dive near Alimathaa Island and was reported missing after failing to surface by midday.
The dive took place at approximately 50 meters depth, far exceeding the Maldives’ recreational diving limit of 30 meters and the 40-meter threshold that requires specialized technical training and equipment. The cave in which they died is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages, where sediment clouds can reduce visibility to near zero within seconds.
Benedetti’s body was recovered near the mouth of the cave on Thursday. Authorities believe the remaining four divers entered deeper into the cave system. The Maldivian National Defense Force then launched a major recovery operation involving boats, aircraft and specialist dive teams. Mohamed Mahudhee, a Maldivian military diver, died of decompression sickness after surfacing from the search. Maldivian Presidential Spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said: “The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission.”
The search has since been suspended. Authorities are now awaiting the arrival of three Finnish deep cave diving experts on Sunday to rethink their strategy entirely. Two additional Italian specialists, a deep sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert, have also been called in.
The University of Genoa confirmed that Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study climate change effects on tropical biodiversity, but stated the fatal dive was “undertaken privately” and was not part of their planned research.
The Maldives Tourism Ministry has suspended the operating license of the vessel “Duke of York,” the boat from which the group had been diving, pending investigation. Around 20 other Italians on the same expedition were safe on board. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said “everything possible” would be done to bring the victims home.