© picture alliance / Anadolu | Tahsin Ceylan
The salvage operation following last Friday's deadly diving accident in the Maldives is making progress. Of the five Italians killed, the body of Gianluca Benedetti had previously been recovered and repatriated. Two more bodies were brought to the surface on Tuesday.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera was able to report that they were Federico Gualtieri and Monica Montefalcone. The two remaining bodies will be recovered Wednesday.
At the request of the Italian government, the rescue operation also received the help of three Finnish diving experts. A local rescue diver died trying to reach the cave.
Both local police and the Italian prosecutor's office in Rome have launched investigations. It is still guessing exactly what caused the accident involving the five Italian divers. The group of divers entered a cave system at a depth of about 50 meters, even though recreational divers in the Maldives are normally not allowed to dive deeper than 30 meters without a permit. Investigation already revealed the Italian group did not have a permit and also entered the water even though the meteorological service had warned that weather conditions were unfavorable at the location where they were going to dive.
Picture: © picture alliance / Anadolu | Tahsin Ceylan