The bodies of four Italian divers who went missing during a scuba diving accident in the Maldives last week have been located, officials have confirmed to the BBC.
One body, belonging to a fifth member of the group, had already been located after the incident on Thursday.
The Italian nationals were found inside a 60-metre-deep (197ft) cave in Vaavu Atoll by a joint team of highly trained Finnish and Maldivian divers, according to local authorities.
A rescue diver also died on Saturday while searching for the bodies of the group.
"Further dives [are] to be carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies," Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesperson, said in a message to the BBC.
Italy's foreign ministry said they were located in the cave's third section - the furthest from the entrance - and that additional dives would be needed to recover them.
The body of the first Italian victim is believed to have been located near the entrance to the same cave on Thursday.
The incident is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.
Four of the Italian divers were part of a University of Genoa team: Prof Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, and researchers Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri.
The fifth Italian victim was boat operations manager and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
Bodies of missing Italian divers found in Maldives
FE Team | Published: May 18, 2026 21:59:46
Bodies of missing Italian divers found in Maldives
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