Elite dive rescue team recovers bodies of final 2 Italians in Maldives

The final two bodies of Italian divers were recovered from a Maldives cave on May 20, completing the retrieval of all six victims from a research expedition gone wrong. Giorgia Sommacal, 22, a Genoa University student, and Muriel Oddenino, 31, a research fellow, were found at over 200 feet by three Finnish divers from the Divers Alert Network (DAN), who used rebreathers to extend dive times. The operation mirrored the recovery of the other two victims, Monica Montefalcone (52), an associate professor and Sommacal’s mother, and Federico Gualtieri (31), both retrieved on May 19. A fifth victim, Gianluca Benedetti (36), a dive boat manager, was found on May 16, raising the death toll to six. The rescue team also recovered GoPro cameras and dive computers, which will aid investigations. Authorities suspect the divers entered a cave nicknamed 'shark cave' and were trapped by powerful currents caused by the Venturi effect, a phenomenon where narrow passages accelerate water flow. Experts noted the team used recreational dive gear—standard 12-liter tanks and compressed air—rather than specialized equipment like trimix, which mitigates risks at such depths. Montefalcone wore a shorty wetsuit, though experts said this was likely a personal choice given the warm waters. Maldivian and Italian prosecutors have launched a manslaughter inquiry, with autopsies planned upon repatriation of the bodies. Witnesses on the dive boat will be questioned as part of the probe.