Five Italian divers died while diving in the Maldives. They had disappeared while taking part in an underwater activity organized by a safari boat, as local authorities confirmed at the end of a vast search operation. One of the victims is a university researcher from Genoa, who appeared several times on television, while the other four Italians are said to be from Poirino, Milan, Genoa and Padua.
What the divers were doing
According to the Maldivian police, the alarm went off around 1.45pm local time (10.45am in Italy), when it was reported that the five divers were missing. The searches – explain the local media – were started immediately and ended with the discovery of only one of the bodies. The other four remain missing and the search remains ongoing.
Again according to local media, the victims were on board a boat managed by foreign operators and specialized in diving cruises. Initial reconstructions indicate that the group had dived in the morning near Alimathaa, one of the most popular locations for diving enthusiasts in the Vaavu atoll. The crew apparently raised the alarm after the divers did not resurface even at midday.
Who were the victims: the names
According to Adnkronos, the name of Monica Montefalcone was the researcher from the University of Genoa who died this afternoon during an excursion to the Maldives. The 52-year-old woman worked at the Distav, Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Genoa. An expert diver, researcher and associate professor, she was responsible for some of the most important projects for the protection of marine environments (including Talassa, GhostNet and Mer “A16-A18”). He had co-signed many Iris (Institutional research information system) publications and was responsible for the ‘Mare Caldo’ project since 2019, a collaboration between DiStav, Greenpeace Italia and ElbaTech which aims to monitor the effects of climate change on Italian seas through a coastal network of sea temperature monitoring stations.
She was a well-known face on TV and an excellent communicator: she was often a guest on programs that talked about the environment such as Geo. With Montefalcone was his daughter, Giorgia Sommacal: she would have turned twenty in June. After studying classical Mazzini, for a few years he had been successfully attending the biomedical engineering course at the University of Genoa.
The other names of the divers involved are Gianluca Benedetti from Padua, Federico Gualtieri from Piedmont and Muriel Oddenino. The latter was a research fellow at the University of Genoa under the supervision of Montefalcone in the Earth Sciences department.
Gianluca Benedetti, originally from Padua, after a long experience in the world of banking and finance, worked for a tour operator company. Having been in the Maldives for seven years in 2017, which turned into a stay of about seven years, he is described as “an energetic and extremely sporty person, a lover of reading, classic cinema and chess”.
Federico Gualtieri was originally from Borgomanero, in the Novara area, but originally from Omegna, in the province of Verbano Cusio Ossola. Graduated in marine biology at the University of Genoa, the young man was in the archipelago for scientific research. He had dedicated his thesis to the “Diversity and ecology of Corallimorpharia and Zoanthari in the central atolls of the Maldives”.
The Farnesina is following the case, explaining that the death of the Italian divers occurred “following an accident that occurred during a scuba dive, five compatriots died in the Vaavu atoll, in the Maldives”, we read in a note. The five would have died “for trying to explore some caves 50 meters deep”, it is explained.
The Maldivian authorities are still reconstructing what happened, the note specifies. “The Farnesina and the Italian embassy in Colombo have been following the case with the utmost attention since the first report; the office is making contact with the victims’ families to provide any necessary consular assistance”, it further explains.
The bodies in a sea cave 60 meters deep
The Maldives National Defense Force has announced that it “believes” that the five Italian divers missing during a dive in the Vaavu atoll are inside an underwater cave about 60 meters deep. According to what was communicated, one of the five bodies was recovered lifeless at 6.13pm local time (3.13pm in Italy) by divers engaged in search operations. The body was then transferred to the Fulidhoo health center in Vaavu atoll. The military authorities explained that the discovery took place inside an underwater cave just under 61 meters long.
“Additional divers and special equipment have been sent to the area, as this is a very high risk and very dangerous operation,” reads a note from the Maldivian military authorities.
Silvia Salsi: “Tragedy strikes Genoa and universities”
“The tragedy that occurred today in the Maldives profoundly affects Genoa and, in particular, its University. In these hours the city’s thoughts go to the families of the victims, their friends, colleagues, students and all the people who shared study and life paths with them”, said the mayor of Genoa, Silvia Salis.
“It is a pain that affects a community that works every day to produce knowledge, transmit it to the new generations and put it at the service of protecting the environment and the sea – adds the mayor – Genoa gathers in condolences and closeness, and is close to the families of all the victims involved in this tragedy”.
In a post on Facebook, the Ligurian university expressed its condolences “for the sudden and tragic passing of Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of Ecology at the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences, of her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, UniGe student of Biomedical Engineering, of Muriel Oddenino, research fellow at the Distav, and of Federico Gualtieri, recent master’s graduate in Marine Biology and Ecology – it wrote the university in a note – The entire university community extends its closeness to the families, colleagues, students who have shared their human and professional journey.”
In Poirino, in the Turin area, a municipality of just over ten thousand inhabitants, Muriel Oddenino’s family is well known and respected. The father, now retired, worked for years as a general practitioner. The news of the tragedy quickly spread throughout the community: there is a coming and going of people who are going to visit Muriel’s parents in their home in via San Giovanni. The mother, Silviana, told reporters present in front of the house that she did not want to speak, inviting them to leave. The 31-year-old researcher died in the Maldives together with four other people during a dive.