An investigation has been launched in Italy into the deaths of divers in the Maldives
This is according to the New York Post.
The search for bodies has been suspended due to stormy weather
The tragedy occurred near the island of Alimata. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, local authorities are investigating whether weather warnings and safe diving regulations were ignored. Rescuers have surveyed two sections of an underwater cave at a depth of around 60 metres. This is twice the depth permitted for recreational diving in the Maldives. Due to deteriorating weather conditions, the search operation had to be temporarily suspended. The Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Damiano Francovi, reported that strong currents and heavy rain are significantly hampering the divers’ work. Boats, aircraft and teams of divers were deployed in the search.
Among the missing are tourists and a diving instructor
One body has now been officially confirmed. According to ANSA, the deceased was diving instructor and boat captain Gianluca Benedetti. Four more people remain missing. Among them are Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Georgia Sommacal, as well as Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri. At the time of the tragedy, there were around 20 other Italian tourists on board the Duke of York. According to eyewitnesses, the group went diving at around 11:00, and within an hour it became clear that some of the divers had not returned to the surface.
Experts have put forward several theories about the tragedy
The causes of the divers’ deaths remain unknown for the time being. Pulmonologist Claudio Micheletto suggested that the divers may have suffered from oxygen toxicity during a deep-water dive. At the same time, Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, does not rule out the possibility that panic may have broken out underwater, leading to fatal errors. Freediver Umberto Pelizzari, who had previously travelled on the same vessel, suggested that the divers may have become lost in the system of underwater caves.
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