After the first attempt ended tragically with the death of another diver, the operation to recover the bodies of the Italians who died last Thursday during a dive in the Maldives resumes today, May 18th. Of the five victims, only one was recovered. The others are still at the bottom of the sea.
The attempt is made by three specialists from Dan Europe (Divers Alert Network Europe), a medical, safety and insurance foundation for divers. The team has managed hundreds of rescue operations around the world. Complex and often risky actions such as that of June 2018, when 12 very young footballers were stranded due to a sudden flood in the Tham Luang cave in Thailand.
The accident
The incident dates back to May 14, in the waters of Alimathaa, in the Vaavu atoll. On the yacht “Duke of York” there were over twenty Italians. Five of them dived and never came back up. They are Monica Montefalcone, 51 years old, professor in Ecology at the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, 23 years old, the researcher Muriel Oddenino, 31 years old, from Poirino, in the Turin area, the diving guide Gianluca Benedetti, 44 years old, from Padua, and the recent graduate Federico Gualtieri, 23 years old, from Omegna (Verbano-Cusio-Ossola). The next day a body was recovered. One of the divers involved in the searches – Sergeant Major Mohamed Mahudhee of the Maldives National Defense Force – also lost his life due to an illness during the dive.
The team of experts
Now the task of continuing the expedition is entrusted to three Finns: Sami Paakkarinen, Jenni Westerlund and Patrik Grönqvist, a woman and two men. Paakkarinen has discovered numerous historic World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic and mapped complex cave systems and will lead the group. Westerlund specializes in mapping and filming and has long collaborated with the other two on the team. Grönqvist is a firefighter, rescue diver and technical diver, with a background in mine and cave diving.
The next few hours “will be entirely dedicated to equipment checks, gas logistics, environmental assessment and dive planning, as part of an operation that remains complex and high risk in a deep and obstructed environment” explains Dan Europe, with the CEO, Laura Marroni, in close coordination with the Maldives National Defense Force (Mndf) and in contact with the Italian authorities in Malé. “The site has complex operational characteristics, with access to depths between 55 and 60 meters and a submerged system of hundreds of meters with multiple chambers and internal passages”, so much so that planning is also necessary on a medical level, he explained
For over forty years, Dan Europe has offered medical assistance and scientific research, but also organizes safety initiatives promoting conscious diving practices and environmental responsibility. “Diving Safety” activities at a global level: the team records and manages thousands of cases every year, in the order of 1,600-1,800 incidents per year.
Double investigation
There are two investigations into the accident: the one opened in the Maldives and that of the Rome Prosecutor’s Office. The first point is to understand whether all safety procedures have been respected and whether there have been any omissions or responsibilities. On Saturday the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism withdrew the license of the “Duke of York”, a measure that underlines the seriousness of what happened.
The five dived over thirty meters deep, even if Maldivian regulations only allow it in specific cases, such as for scientific activities or particular authorizations. Authorizations, equipment, licenses: the proceedings initiated in Piazzale Clodio could include deeds and documents relating to the cruise, also through a possible international letter rogatory.
Another chapter is that relating to the autopsies, which will be carried out when the bodies of Montefalcone, Sommacal, Gualtieri and Oddenino have been recovered. A second autopsy report could in fact be ordered after the return of the bodies to Italy, to seek further answers on what happened.
The role of survivors
Meanwhile, the twenty Italians who were on board the “Duke of York” have returned to Milan with the five dead divers. The survivors will be called to testify before the magistrates of Rome. Their story will help the investigators to reconstruct, in the most detailed way possible, the hours preceding the dive of the five divers, trying to clarify each step. Their cell phones will most likely also be analyzed.