A week after five divers lost their lives in the Maldives, new details are slowly emerging about the expedition that ended in tragedy.
Authorities are still trying to piece together the events that took place before the four Italian tourists and their instructor were found lifeless.
“That dive plan was never going to end with any of them alive,” one commenter wrote, as multiple theories began emerging online.
Highlights
- New details are slowly emerging about the expedition that ended in tragedy in the Maldives.
- One of the most troubling questions in the case is why the bodies were found in different locations.
- “That dive plan was never going to end with any of them alive,” one commenter wrote online.
- The husband of one of the deceased divers broke his silence following the tragedy.
New details are slowly emerging about the expedition that ended in tragedy in the Maldives
Image credits: Patrycja Jadach/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
Many questions remain unanswered after five divers went missing while scuba diving in a 197-foot-deep cave in Vaavu Atoll on May 14.
The group consisted of a diving instructor and boat operations manager, Gianluca Benedetti, 42, and four tourists: Monica Montefalcone, 52; Giorgia Sommacal, 22; Muriel Oddenino, 31; and Federico Gualtieri, 31.
It is believed the group entered the water at Vaavu Atoll in the morning and were reported missing when they later failed to resurface.
Image credits: Maldives National Defence Force
Two of the victims, Prof. Monica Montefalcone and research fellow Muriel Oddenino from the University of Genoa, were in the Maldives, studying the impact of climate change on biodiversity.
Giorgia Sommacal was Monica’s daughter and a biomedical engineering student at the same university, while Federico Gualtieri was a recent graduate.
The names of two members in the group were not mentioned in their permit
Image credits: Albatros Top Boat
The group had permission to study the coral, including deep dives; however, they reportedly did not mention the underwater cave in their proposal.
The team had a permit to conduct their scientific work, allowing them to descend to 50 meters.
The mouth of the Thinwana Kandu cave, which they entered, is 47 meters below the surface.
Image credits: Maldives National Defence Force
Moreover, their permit only listed three of the deceased divers as researchers, while Monica’s daughter Giorgia and instructor Gianluca were not mentioned at all.
The University of Genoa said it did not grant approval for any deep-sea dives for the team's scientific research.
“The requests submitted to the Maldivian authorities...were evidently made outside the scope of the mission authorised by the University,” a spokesperson told BBC.
One of the most troubling questions in the case is why the bodies were found in different locations
Image credits: University of Genova
Image credits: rtl1025
One of the most troubling questions in the case is why the bodies were found in different locations.
Instructor Gianluca’s body was found at a depth of 60 meters shortly after the divers went missing. He was found close to the entrance of the cave known as the “shark cave.”
The rest of the group was located days later inside a much more internal area of the cave system, specifically the third chamber.
Image credits: Shifaaz shamoon/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
Image credits: retiredprnstar
Authorities explained that the cave structure includes three large chambers, connected by narrow passages. Light only reaches the first chamber, and beyond that, it is pitch dark.
The pressure around a diver also increases as they go deeper. This means that every breath delivers more oxygen into their lungs and bloodstream, even when breathing normal air.
Too much oxygen can start overstimulating the diver’s central nervous system and cause damage to tissues.
Image credits: giorgia_sommacal
Image credits: rtl1025
So far, investigators have not made any conclusions about why the instructor’s body was found at a different location.
Nevertheless, social media users began spinning their own theories about what could have happened in the lead-up to the discovery of the five bodies.
“Feels like they were let down by their dive guide…,” one netizen commented online
Image credits: Corriere Torino
Image credits: iabhinavKhare
“This was either group su*cide or m*rder,” one X user commented online. “I've been diving for 30 years. Rescue and deep dive certified. These divers were effectively de*d the moment they went in the water.”
“At 150 feet, with recreational gear and without special gas mix, you're already de*d,” the same user continued.
“I'm an absolute madman adrenaline j*nkie. My hard floor is 120 feet,” he added. “There was no possible way they were coming back, whether they panicked or not. That dive plan was never going to end with any of them alive.”
Image credits: Muriel Oddenino
Image credits: marcorandazza
Another X user shared their own experience, saying he comes from a family of trained rescue divers. He also said he has done extensive diving around the same area in the Maldives with his wife.
“You definitely don’t dive 50M with recreational equipments without a proper training in technical diving,” he said.
During one dive in the area, “a downwards current pushed us from 35M to 53M in a couple of minutes. And we didn’t even realize the depth but our diving computer immediately went on alarm.”
Image credits: Muriel Oddenino
“We ascended slowly, met our group at 35M… came out,” he added. “Our diving guide later sat us down and gave us very stern warning including of making a recommendation to cancel our license if that ever happens again. It never happened again.”
Another said, “It is objectively very strange that they all di*d, 5 out of 5. All experts and scrupulous. Something must have happened down there. Maybe an error in preparing the tanks? Or perhaps they ventured into a tunnel where they then got stuck.”
Professor Monica’s husband broke his silence following the tragedy
Following the tragedy, Professor Monica’s husband said she would never have put their daughter’s life or “other kids” at risk.
“My only certainty is that my wife is one of the best scuba divers on the face of the earth,” he told local newspaper La Repubblica.
“Something must have happened,” he added.
If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or su*cidal ideation, help is available: International Hotlines
“Could they have been disoriented and believed they were swimming upwards while they were actually descending deeper down?” one commenter asked
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