On Tuesday, a specialised recovery effort launched in the Maldives to bring home the bodies of five Italian cave divers who died in a fatal dive last week. The operation, coordinated by the Maldives National Defence Force and Divers Alert Network Europe, targets the final chamber of the Thinwana Kandu (Shark Cave) where the victims remain trapped at roughlly 200 ft deep.

Five Italian divers lost in Thinwana Kandu at 165‑200 ft depths

The tragedy unfolded over four days, beginning with the death of rescue frogman Gianluca Benedetti, whose body was recovered at the cave mouth on Monday. The remaining four victims, including a mother‑daughter pair, were later located in the cavern’s third chamber, at depths reported around 165 ft and extending to 200 ft below the surface.

Technical challenges: 100‑ft corridor and pitch‑black chambers

Rescuers must navigate a narrow 100‑ft passage that narrows to between 5 ft and 7.5 ft, then descend into a near‑dark environment where only artificial light reaches the first chamber. According to Maldives government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef, divers plan to recover two bodies today and the remaining two tomorrow, using closed‑circuit rebreathers to manage breathing gases at depth.

International expertise drives the recovery effort

DAN Europe leads the mission with three veteran technical and cave divers, supported by the Maldives National Defence Force, police, and local diving veteran Shafraz Naeem. Naeem warned that diving at 180 ft on blended air is already hazardous, and using compressed air would be “far‑fetched.”

Unclear cause of the fatal incident

Former instructor Riccardo Gambacorta disputes claims that oxygen intoxication caused the deaths,suggesting an unexpected event may have triggered the tragedy. The exact trigger remains unverified, and investigators have yet to release a definitive report.