Two Italian divers were found in a cave in the Maldives after a fatal expedition

Rescue divers have found the bodies of two Italians in a cave in the Maldives. They are now looking for two more bodies.

The Maldivian government reports that Finnish specialist divers have extracted two bodies from the underwater cave where five Italian scuba divers perished last week. There are still two more bodies in the cave.

Finnish specialist divers carried out the recovery action, according to Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a spokesman for the Maldivian government. He said that the bodies were found in the third level of the cave after a two-hour search. They were then taken to Malé, the capital, to be identified.

The group didn’t come back after a dive near Vaavu Atoll. Gianluca Benedetti, a diving teacher, was found near the cave’s entrance soon after the accident and was the first body to be discovered.

A relief diver from the Maldives named Sgt. Mohamed Mahudhee also died in the search on Saturday.

The last four bodies were found on Monday in the cave’s deepest part, which is known as “Shark Cave” in the area. The search for the last two bodies will continue on Wednesday, according to the authorities.

The Maldives government said the cave is about 60 meters deep. Officials said it was difficult to do the rescue work because of the depth, the small spaces, and the lack of light underwater.

Four of the divers had ties to Genoa University. The university clarified that the cave dive did not fall within the scope of their permitted study in the Maldives.

Professor Monica Montefalcone of ecology, researcher Muriel Oddenino, student Giorgia Sommacal, and graduate Federico Gualtieri were all on the team. Officials told the group they could dive up to 50 meters, but they hadn’t said anything about going into the cave system.