The remains of the four Italian divers retrieved from the Dhekunu Kandu dive site close to V. Alimathaa are scheduled to be returned to their home nations at dawn.

Around 01:45 pm on Thursday, May14th, five Italian tourists were reported missing following a scuba diving excursion to Dhekunu Kandu, a 200-meter-long underwater cave network close to V. Alimatha.

The individuals identified as victims include Monica Montefalcone, a marine biology professor affiliated with the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.

Benedetti's body was discovered at approximately 06:13pm that day, positioned 60 meters beneath the surface, within the cave.

The MNDF had persistently carried out recovery dives until they suspended the mission on Saturday, following the death of Coast Guard’s Sergeant First Class Mohamed Mahudhy during one of the dives. The operation recommenced on Monday, led by DAN Europe, with a team of three Finnish technical diving experts, including one cave diving specialist.

On that same day, the Finnish team found four bodies situated near one another within the innermost section of the cave, at a depth of around 60 meters. According to Maldivian law, recreational diving is limited to a maximum depth of 30 meters.

On Tuesday, two bodies were found, then the last two were located on Wednesday.

Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), the main spokesperson for the Maldivian government, stated that the remains of the four people will be sent to Italy at dawn.

The representative also mentioned that an official request has been submitted for the post-mortem results to be provided to the Maldivian investigative team if the autopsies take place in Italy.

The bodies of all four people are set to be returned to Italy early tomorrow morning. Mundhu mentioned, "We have also asked for the results to be provided to the Maldivian investigators if a post-mortem examination takes place in their home country."

In a statement yesterday evening, DAN announced the end of the underwater operational phase of the global search and recovery mission. It stated that all recovered items, including gear owned by victims, rescuers, and earlier operational teams, were submitted to the Maldivian Police as evidence.

As local authorities investigate the tragedy, Italian officials have initiated a criminal inquiry into the fatalities.