Monica Montefalcone Genoa Accident, Obituary: Five Italian tourists have died after a deep-water scuba diving excursion in an underwater cave system in the Maldives, in what authorities are calling one of the most serious diving incidents ever recorded in the island nation.
The victims include Monica Montefalcone, a marine biology professor at the University of Genoa, and her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal. The pair were reportedly exploring waters around Vaavu Atoll when they vanished at approximately 160 feet below the surface, according to Italy’s foreign ministry.
Three other divers on the same excursion were also confirmed dead: Muriel Oddenino, Gianluca Benedetti, and Federico Gualtieri. All five had reportedly been participating in a recreational dive near one of the Maldives’ most well-known underwater sites, close to the island of Alimatha.
Authorities said the group had boarded a yacht, identified by local reports as the Duke of York, earlier that morning before descending into the ocean. Rescue teams were dispatched around 1:45 p.m. local time after the divers failed to resurface. Search operations continued across the area, but all five individuals were later recovered deceased.
Officials have not yet confirmed the exact cause of death. Local police in the Maldives have opened a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dive, including equipment checks, dive planning, and environmental conditions at the time of the incident.