Last two bodies of Italian divers killed in scuba diving accident recovered, Maldives says

MALE - The last two bodies of Italian divers killed in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives have been recovered, the media office of the Maldives president said on Wednesday, completing recovery efforts after the island nation's deadliest diving tragedy.

The divers were part of a group of five who entered a deepwater cave for exploration last week, after being granted the necessary permit to research soft corals in the Devana Kandu site.

Maldivian authorities are investigating multiple possible causes behind their death, including whether the group descended far deeper than expected.

"Both remaining divers recovered from the cave and brought to the surface," an official at the media office said on Wednesday. All bodies had been moved to a mortuary in the capital Male, the official added.

The group was led by Monica Montefalcone, 51, a University of Genoa professor and marine ecologist who was a regular diver in Maldivian waters in the Indian Ocean, and also included her daughter.

The body of the group's instructor was recovered on Friday, and the remains of two other divers were retrieved on Tuesday after a specialist team from Finland was roped in to help with efforts.

A Maldives National Defence Force diver taking part in the search also died from decompression illness as divers tried to locate the bodies on Saturday.

(Reporting by Waruna Cudah Nimal Karunatilake, Writing by Hritam Mukherjee and Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 12:57 AM.