Five Italians died in the Maldives during a diving excursion near Alimathà in the Vaavu atoll. The tragedy was made known by the local police. The disappearance of the divers – who had dived in the morning – was reported around 1.45pm local time, when in Italy it was 10.45am. The police immediately started searches and later found the bodies of all five people.
Only one of the victims’ bodies would have been recovered: the rescue operations – also complicated by the weather – are still underway. According to initial information, the group had gone out for a diving activity from a safari boat, one of the boats used for scuba diving in the archipelago. According to the Farnesina, the divers died after trying to explore some caves at a depth of 50 metres.
The Italians who died in the Maldives
Among the victims was a professor from the University of Genoa, Monica Montefalcone, already a well-known face on TV: she was the scientific director of the “Mare Caldo” project, which monitors the effects of sea warming on Italian marine habitats, and coordinates research activities on the coral reefs of the Maldives. This was confirmed by the University of Genoa itself.
The Maldivian authorities have not yet officially released the details of the victims nor the causes of the accident. The investigations will have to clarify whether the tragedy was caused by sea conditions (a yellow alert was expected for today due to adverse weather conditions), by a technical problem, by a difficulty during the dive or by other factors.
Safari Five divers missing from vaavu atoll at 1pm. Still searching.! pic.twitter.com/IOO1TQvHTV
— AmithAli 🇮🇹🇲🇻 (@AmithAli) May 14, 2026
The Farnesina was also informed of the matter, which is following the case in contact with the local authorities through the diplomatic and consular network. In this phase the priority is the formal identification of the victims, assistance to the family members and the reconstruction of the last moments of the excursion.
The area where the tragedy occurred is one of the most interesting for diving enthusiasts as documented by dozens of online videos.
The island of Alimathà, reachable in about an hour by motorboat from Malè, offers access to the so-called “kandu”, the natural canals that connect the internal lagoon to the open sea and which generate currents capable of attracting a very rich marine fauna. The “Alimathà caves” are not terrestrial cavities, but large coral ravines, tunnels and natural passages present especially in the atoll’s dive sites.
The most famous is Fotteyo Kandu, considered by many to be one of the best dive sites in the Maldives thanks to its walls covered in soft corals, canyons and cavities populated by an extraordinary variety of tropical fish. In these waters it is common to encounter gray reef sharks, white tip sharks, nurse sharks, eagle rays, barracudas, tunas and, in some seasons, even manta rays and hammerhead sharks. Local divers consider diving in the Fotteyo Kandu area to be challenging and suitable for experienced divers.
Who are the victims
As far as we know, among the confirmed victims, in addition to Monica Montefalcone – associate professor in ecology at the University of Genoa and also a well-known face on TV – there would also be her twenty-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal. The teacher was known for her great love for the sea and for being responsible for some important marine projects. She had appeared on TV as a science communicator.
Among the victims there would also be a colleague of Monica Montefalcone, Muriel Oddenino, a researcher at the University of Genoa, from Poirino in Turin. She was in the Maldives for a research project coordinated by herself with Monica Montefalcone together with other colleagues. Gianluca Benedetti from Padua and Federico Gualtieri from Omegna (Novara), both diving instructors, also took part in today’s tragic excursion and died.
Monica and her daughter, the researcher Muriel and the divers Gianluca and Federico: who are the Italians who died in the Maldives
Among the hypotheses advanced by some diving experts as the cause of death is that of so-called ‘oxygen toxicity’ or hyperoxia, a condition that can occur with prolonged or high-pressure exposure to high concentrations of oxygen during deep dives. The phenomenon can cause tissue damage and affect the central nervous system, causing loss of consciousness, seizures and other serious neurological effects. At the moment, however, this is only a possibility not confirmed by the authorities.
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