Finnish rescue divers have shared a new theory that may explain how the five Italian divers lost their lives during their deep-water expedition in the Maldives.
The accident, believed to be the most fatal of its kind in the island nation’s history, occurred last Thursday (May 14) when the group was exploring the waters of Vaavu Atoll.
Hours after they failed to resurface, the body of diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti was found near the mouth of the Thinwana Kandu cave.
The rescue divers who recovered the bodies of the five Italians from the Maldives cave have shared a theory about the accident
Image credits: Muriel Oddenino/Facebook
The remaining four bodies—those of marine biologist Monica Montefalcone, student and Monica’s daughter Giorgia Sommacal, and two young researchers, Federico Gualtieri and Muriel Oddenino—were located in the cavern’s pitch-black third and final chamber on Monday.
A week after the five divers lost their lives, the reasons behind the tragedy remain clouded in mystery. Both Italy and the Maldives have opened separate investigations into the case, with Rome prosecutors launching a culpable homicide probe.
Image credits: University of Genoa
While investigations are ongoing, the team of Finnish expert divers who recovered the bodies has suggested that the group may have taken the wrong tunnel on their way out of the cave.
The Vaavu Atoll cave is divided into three chambers, which are all connected by narrow passageways.
Image credits: Albatros Top Boat
The first is the largest and brightest. According to Laura Marroni, CEO of Dan Europe, the company that employed the divers involved in the search, the first and second chambers are connected by a 30-meter-long (98-foot) corridor.
In addition to being darker than the first chamber, the second one had an element that could have sealed the divers’ fate: a sandbank.
Rescue divers believe the Italians may have become trapped after taking the wrong tunnel inside the underwater cave
Image credits: Abdulla Musab/Pexels (Not the actual image)
Marroni suggested that, after entering the second chamber, the divers may have tried to exit through the 30-meter corridor, but the rising sandbank clouded their vision, sending them on the wrong path into the third chamber, from where there is no way out.
The divers’ tanks would have given them about 10 minutes to explore the second chamber, Marroni estimated. However, the air supply was insufficient to allow them to find their way out after accidentally entering the third chamber.
“Realizing that the path is the wrong one and having little air, perhaps after going back and forth, is terrifying. Then you breathe quickly and the air supply decreases,” she said, as per La Repubblica.
Marroni recognized the divers for their courage and professionalism, stating, “This type of operation always involves a great deal of responsibility, emotional toll, and a strong desire to return bodies to their families.”
Image credits: NBC News/Youtube
One of the divers, 54-year-old Patrik Gronqvist, told AFP that they found the four bodies on the floor of the cave.
“This operation was very sad… I will never forget it,” the diver said.
Investigators have yet to analyze the GoPro cameras reportedly worn by the divers during the expedition
Image credits: giorgia_sommacal/Instagram
The Finnish divers reportedly recovered the group’s technical equipment and GoPro cameras they had worn during the fatal expedition, which investigators hope will shed light on the case.
Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, described his late wife as “one of the best divers in the world” who was “prepared and meticulous.”
“Monica usually had a GoPro when she went diving,” Carlo explained. “If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened.”
He added, “She would never have put our daughter’s life or that of others at risk… something must have happened down there. Maybe one of them had trouble, maybe the oxygen tanks, I have no idea.”
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the case is the permits reportedly obtained by some group members.
Some of the divers had received a permit to conduct deep dives to study the impact of climate change on biodiversity
Image credits: Francisco Davids/Pexels (Not the actual image)
According to Mohamed Hussain Shareef, a spokesperson for the Maldives president’s office, some divers, including professor Montefalcone, had been issued a permit to carry out scientific work in the area.
The permit reportedly allowed them to descend to 50 m (164 ft), far deeper than the recreational limit of 30 m (98 ft) mandated by Maldivian law.
But Shareef stated that government authorities had not been informed that the group would be exploring the underwater cave.
Image credits: Muriel Oddenino/Facebook
“While they had a permit, there are certain gaps in the research proposal,” he stated.
Moreover, two of the divers who lost their lives were not on the list of those who had been issued the permit.
The government spokesperson said that the cave is so deep “that even divers with the best equipment do not try to approach it.”
Some experts believe the group suffered nitrogen narcosis, while others think they were pulled into the cave
One of the Maldivian rescue divers, Mohamed Mahudhee, lost his life from decompression sickness after assisting in the search operation.
Albatros Top Boats, the company that organized the fatal expedition, has denied authorizing the deep dive, claiming it was unaware that the group of five would be descending beyond the recreational diving limit.
As the investigation continues, experts have suggested other hypotheses that may explain the tragedy.
Image credits: Federico Gualtieri/Facebook
Shafraz Naeem, a former diver for the Maldives National Defense Force, said the group may have suffered nitrogen narcosis, which occurs when divers breathe nitrogen under high pressure at depth. It affects the brain and can cause confusion, poor judgment, and slowed reactions.
Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine (SIMSI), believes the group was likely pulled into the cave by a strong current while exploring its entrance.
Autopsy results are expected to help investigators piece together the tragedy
Image credits: Dipartimento Biologia Uni Pi/Wikipedia
Another unanswered question is why the instructor’s body was found in a different location from the other divers.
Investigators in Italy will order autopsies as soon as the bodies are returned to the country. They will also question those who were aboard the Duke of York, the boat from which the divers descended into the cave.
“We believe that the retrieval of the bodies will itself reveal a lot, as far as that part of the investigation is concerned,” said Shareef, according to The Associated Press. “But that doesn’t take from the fact that cave diving in itself is very, very dangerous.
People shared their thoughts on the theory that the divers became disoriented by the sandbank
