Several diving experts, including the president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine (SIMSI), have shared chilling theories about what may have happened inside the Maldives’ notorious “Shark Cave” system.
Last week, on May 14, five Italian tourists, including a diving instructor, lost their lives in the Vaavu Atoll, a region infamous among divers for its deep underwater channels, dangerous currents, and dense shark populations.
Highlights
- Experts believe a terrifying “suction and panic” effect may have dragged the divers into the cave’s pitch-black chambers.
- Investigators are now reviewing recovered bodycam footage to determine what triggered the harrowing underwater disaster.
- Veteran divers remain divided, with some blaming dangerous currents while others insist the group knowingly entered the cave’s “unforgiving” third chamber.
As investigators continue examining the devastating incident, and with all the bodies now recovered following an extensive search operation, a new “suction and panic” theory has emerged.
Experts, including both diving and medical specialists, have come forward with chilling theories regarding the diving tragedy in the Maldives
Image credits: Dipartimento Biologia Uni Pi
On May 14, a group consisting of Gianluca Benedetti, 42, Monica Montefalcone, 52, Giorgia Sommacal, 22, Muriel Oddenino, 31, and Federico Gualtieri, 31, entered the water.
When they failed to return by around 1:45 p.m., a major search-and-rescue operation was launched. Later that same evening, rescuers recovered the body of diving instructor Gianluca near the cave entrance.
Three days later, the bodies of the remaining members of the group were discovered by a team of Finnish and Maldivian divers at the bottom of the cave’s third chamber, an area submerged in complete darkness.
Image credits: 7NEWS Australia
Reportedly, Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee, a diver for the Maldives Coast Guard, also lost his life due to decompression sickness after assisting in the search operation.
The complex extraction of the remaining bodies from the 60-meter-deep cavern was completed earlier today, May 20.
Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine (SIMSI), has put forward a chilling “suction and panic” theory to explain what the divers may have experienced in their final moments.
Image credits: Albatros Top Boat
Speaking with Italian news outlet Adnkronos, Bolognini suggested that the highly experienced dive team was likely exploring a nearby reef before deciding to inspect the cave entrance toward the very end of their dive.
He theorized that a powerful current passing through the cave’s narrow passage created a “Venturi effect.”
This phenomenon causes water to accelerate rapidly through tight spaces, creating a sudden drop in pressure and a violent vacuum that may have unexpectedly pulled the divers into the pitch-black cave.
Five Italian tourists lost their lives in the Vaavu Atoll, a region infamous for its deep underwater channels and dangerous currents
Image credits: Muriel Oddenino / Federico Gualtieri
He explained, “I've been thinking about it since yesterday, after hearing about the conditions during the inspection… They first sent a ROV (remotely operated vehicle) to the entrance of the caves. They couldn't get it in due to the very strong currents, and they had to go there themselves.”
“Hence the hypothesis, which became more concrete today when they sent me the diagram of the site with the three chambers, an entrance, and an exit. A formidable Venturi effect is created… Two things could have happened after the suction.”
“Either everyone was sucked in, or one person was sucked in and the others attempted to rescue them,” he continued, arguing that this theory seemed plausible given that the group consisted of “highly trained people.”
“The professor, Monica Montefalcone, had over 5,000 dives under her belt and held all the certifications,” he added.
Image credits: Maldives National Defence Force
Alfonso further continued, “With that level of knowledge, it is unthinkable to go so deep without the necessary preparation for that type of exploration. They were probably at the end of the dive, they were there for the coral reef, the caves were not the objective.”
“They decided to make this dive a little deeper to view the entrance, they were sucked into a probably dark environment…”
Once trapped inside the cave’s tight, zero-visibility chambers at a dangerous depth of 50 to 60 meters, a secondary fatal factor may have taken over: sheer panic.
One expert suggested, “Either everyone was sucked in [the cave], or one was sucked in and the others attempted to rescue them”
Image credits: Giorgia Sommacal / University of Genova
Bolognini noted that even a minor mistake, or a single diver experiencing a panic attack under such intense pressure, could have triggered heavy, frantic finning movements.
This would have instantly stirred up sand and sediment, turning the water completely cloudy. In total disorientation and pitch darkness, the divers would likely have been unable to navigate their way out before running out of oxygen.
He concluded, “In their desperate search for a way out, they probably also ran out of air. But this is, in my opinion, a fairly reliable reconstruction of what happened."
On the other hand, medical experts like pulmonologist Dr. Claudio Micheletto have raised another terrifying possibility.
Image credits: NBC News/Maldives National Defence Force
According to the New York Post, Micheletto pointed out that because the group was reportedly using standard recreational scuba gear rather than specialized technical equipment, breathing highly concentrated oxygen at depths beyond 50 meters may have caused oxygen toxicity, also known as hyperoxia.
Micheletto explained, “D**th from oxygen toxicity, or hyperoxia, is one of the most dramatic d**ths that can occur during a dive — a horrible end.”
“When you breathe in too high a concentration of oxygen, the gas becomes toxic to the body. During the dive, dizziness, pain, altered consciousness, and disorientation occur, making it impossible to surface.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Claudio Micheletto theorized that the tragedy was likely caused by oxygen toxicity, also known as hyperoxia
Image credits: Muriel Oddenino
Reportedly, following the recovery of all the bodies, authorities also managed to retrieve body cameras from the divers’ remains.
Investigators are currently reviewing the harrowing final footage to determine whether mechanical tank failure, environmental suction, or sudden human panic ultimately triggered the disaster.
Previously, as Bored Panda reported, another expert, Shafraz Naeem, a veteran diver who knew the late Sergeant Major Mahudhee, said he was familiar with the site but had never dared to enter the third “unforgiving” chamber.
Naeem, a former military diver for the Maldives National Defense Force with 30 years of technical diving experience, stated, “I have visited those caves countless times. There is no current. They swam into that third cave. They chose to go in there.”
“I believe the instructor intentionally swam away from the group. Maybe he legged it up before he ran out of air. The rest of the group d*ed in that third chamber and Benedetti d*ed in the passageway trying to get out.”
Echoing Dr. Claudio’s concerns, Shafraz added, “People who are not trained in cave diving or without proper equipment, like this, tend to get knocked by nitrogen narcosis. Then things start to spiral down from there and get worse.”
Local authorities and the Maldivian military confirmed that the incident, which resulted in six fatalities, including the local military rescue diver, is the worst scuba disaster the country has ever witnessed.
“Unfortunately, this reminds me of the Oceangate incident. Not having the right equipment and knowing… the risks,” one netizen wrote online
