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Five Italians have died in a scuba diving accident in the Maldives, the foreign ministry in Rome has said.<\/p>\n
“The divers are believed to have died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft),” the ministry said, adding that this happened in Vaavu Atoll.<\/p>\n
The Maldives’ military said one body had been found in a cave about 60 metres underwater, and the other four divers were believed to be also there.<\/p>\n
It said divers with special equipment had been sent to the area, describing a search operation as a very high risk.<\/p>\n
The incident is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.<\/p>\n
The five Italians entered the water on Thursday morning, local media reported.<\/p>\n
The crew of the diving vessel they were travelling on reported them missing when they failed to resurface later on.<\/p>\n
Police said the weather was rough in the area, about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital Mal\u00e9. A yellow warning was issued for passenger boats and fishermen.<\/p>\n
The University of Genoa later said the victims included a marine biology professor, her daughter and two young researchers.<\/p>\n
In a statement on X, the university expressed its “deepest condolences” to the victims.<\/p>\n
Diving and snorkelling accidents are relatively rare in the Maldives, although several fatalities have been reported in recent years.<\/p>\n