Bodies found of four divers in Maldives accident

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ROME: The bodies of four Italians who drowned during a diving accident in the Maldives have been found but not yet brought to the surface, Italy's foreign ministry and the Maldivan military said on Monday (May 18).

"The bodies of four missing divers have been located inside the Vaavu Atoll cave, on a joint search and recovery operation," the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) said in a statement.

Italy's foreign ministry confirmed the news.

The bodies have not yet been brought to the surface, with the MNDF saying that further dives will be "carried out in the coming days to recover the bodies".

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A government official told AFP it was a difficult operation and suggested it could "take some time" to bring up the bodies.

A group of five Italians failed to return to the surface after diving in the deep underwater cave on Thursday, with one body already having been recovered later that day.

A rescue diver who was engaged in the search for them died on Saturday.

The accident is the deadliest diving disaster in the Indian Ocean tourist destination.

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