MALE, Maldives (AP) — A high-risk operation to recover the bodies of four Italian divers from deep inside an underwater cave in the Maldives was suspended on Friday after rough seas repeatedly hampered efforts.
Speaking a day after the body of a fifth member of the dive group was recovered on Thursday, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said despite the poor weather conditions everything possible would be done to bring the victims home.
The cause of the deaths remained under investigation. The recovery operation is expected to resume on Saturday.
“Unfortunately, the searches are suspended due to bad weather, but we will do everything possible to recover the bodies of our compatriots,” Tajani told a political event in Italy.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said the dive group had “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters (164 feet)” in the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday.
The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate ecology professor at the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.
Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday.
Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, said he believed something unexpected must have occurred and ruled out recklessness on her part.
“Something must have happened,” he told Italian TV channel Rete 4. He said his wife was a disciplined diver who carefully weighed risks before each descent. He recalled her telling him at times: “This one I can do, you can’t.”
