Marine biologist on Maldives scuba diving trip sent harrowing message before fatal dive
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: University of Genova
Expert divers have located the bodies of four members of an expedition who died while exploring undersea caves in the Maldives, as the poignant final words of the group's marine biologist have emerged.
University of Genova lecturer Monica Montefalcone, 51, tragically died on the scuba expedition on May 14, alongside her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, 20, and 31-year-olds Muriel Oddenino and Federico Gualtieri, as they explored a series of difficult caves with instructor Gianluca Benedetti, 44.
All five members of the Italian scuba diving expedition met their end in a cave roughly 160ft below the ocean's surface near the Vaavu Atoll, which comprises an extensive reef and a 'honeycomb' of difficult caves.
Montefalcone, a marine biologist and experienced diver, shared some unintentionally poignant words in the hours before her dive that have since come to light, as the operation to recover the scuba team's bodies continues.
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The 51-year-old diver from the University of Genova had sent an email explaining why expeditions, like the one she was about to embark on, were an essential part of the scientific method for any marine biologist.
“It is fundamental to observe the underwater environment — which remains far too unknown to the general public — whether with our own eyes or through the lens of a robot,” Montefalcone wrote in an email at 10.15pm.
The influential biologist and seagrass expert had taken her 22-year-old daughter Giorgia, a student at the same university, with her on the idyllic work trip which aimed to monitor the impact of climate change on biodiversity in tropical regions.
Reacting over the weekend to the news of his wife and daughter's death, Montefalcone's husband Carlo Sommacal told local media: “The only certainty I have is that my wife is among the best divers on the face of the earth. She’s never been a reckless person.
“She would have never jeopardized the life of our daughter or any other young people.”
University research fellow Oddenino and Master's graduate Gualtieri also died in the diving tragedy, described as the worst in the Maldives' history, which has now also claimed the life of military diver Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahdhee while attempting to recover their bodies.
The body of instructor Benedetti was found near the mouth of the cave shortly after the incident.
Today (May 19), two more bodies were recovered, with a Maldivian government spokesperson telling the BBC: “They were retrieved from the third chamber of the underwater cave by the specialist divers from Finland after a two-hour operation.”
They have been transported to the Maldivian capital of Malé for identification. Two bodies remain inside the cave.
Rescuers previously detailed the 'complex' task they have of recovering the bodies.
“It’s a particularly complex dive because the cave is divided into three separate, interconnected segments,” Italian Ambassador Damiano Francovigh explained. “The Maldivian divers were only able to enter the first two, then had to come up to allow time for decompression.”
Ahmed Shaam, a spokesperson for the Maldives government, said: “As was previously thought, the four bodies were found inside the cave, not only inside the cave but well inside the cave into the third segment of the cave, which is the largest part.”
He added that the four divers were found 'pretty much together' and that the rescue operation would involve trying to recover two bodies per day, weather permitting.