The group had set off on a diving expedition on Thursday morning to explore the Vaavu Atoll.

08:51, Fri, May 15, 2026 Updated: 08:59, Fri, May 15, 2026

Monica Montefalcone

Monica Montefalcone (Image: /)

The five scuba divers who died while exploring underwater caves in the Maldives have been named. The group, from Italy, had set off on a diving expedition on Thursday morning.

It has been confirmed they died while exploring the underwater caves, at a depth of around 50 metres, in the Vaavu Atoll. One of the victims has been named by Italian media as Monica Montefalcone, 51, a marine biologist, TV personality and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa. Her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, 20, also died. The other three victims have been named as Muriel Oddenino of Turin, Gianluca Benedetti of Padua and Federico Gualtieri of Borgomanero.

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Italy's foreign ministry confirmed the deaths but gave no further details on the cause of the incident. They added that an investigation is under way while the victim's families have been contacted.

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