The tragedy occurred on Thursday.
Photo: Ibrahim Asad / Getty Images
Five Italian tourists died during a risky dive in the Maldives. The Italian Foreign Ministry reported that Monica Montefalcone, a professor of marine biology at the University of Genoa, and her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal disappeared on Thursday at a depth of about 49 meters in the waters of Vaavu Atoll, Delfi.lv writes.
After the dive, three other members of this group could not be saved: Muriel Adenina from Turin, Gianluca Benedetti from Padua, and Federico Gualtieri from Borgomanero.
At approximately 13:45, rescue services headed to the dive site near Alimatha Island. After intensive search operations in the waters of the Indian Ocean, the remains of all five divers were found, officials confirmed.
Local media outlet The Edition reported that on Thursday morning, the divers were on the yacht Duke of York before embarking on a dive to one of the country's most popular underwater locations. It is not yet definitively known what caused the death of the group of divers.
It is noted that on Thursday, the weather conditions in the region were unfavorable: wind gusts reached 48 km/h, but it is not yet clear whether these conditions were the decisive factor in the catastrophe. Local police have launched an investigation to ascertain all circumstances of the underwater incident.
Officials believe this to be the most severe diving accident in the history of this small island nation in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives, known for its chains of coral islands, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
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