The four Italian divers who remained missing inside the underwater cave system at Devana Kandu, Vaavu Atoll, have been located in the third segment of the cave by a specialist Finnish cave-diving team during an exploratory dive this evening. The divers have not yet been recovered; the new information confirms their position inside the system and is expected to inform the next phase of the operation.
The four had been missing inside the cave since 14 May 2026, when they descended below 50 metres in an unauthorised dive and failed to resurface. The body of a fifth member of the group, diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, was recovered shortly after the initial incident. A Maldivian National Defence Force diver, Sgt-Major Mohamed Mahudhee, lost his life during the early recovery attempt.
The information from today's dive is expected to inform the next phase of the recovery operation.
The Finnish specialists, mobilised through DAN Europe, took over the operation after the MNDF suspended its own search. Today's dive was the first exploratory mission to map the deeper sections of the cave system, which extends for hundreds of metres through multiple chambers and internal passages below the channel mouth.
This is a developing story. MT will publish a full update with official statements from Maldivian authorities, the Italian foreign ministry, and the families of the deceased as they are released.
