Footage taken on body cameras worn by a group of Italian divers who died while exploring deep-sea caves in the Maldives could reveal how their final moments unfolded. The group had attempted to explore caves at a depth of around 165ft in the Vaavu Atoll last Thursday, but never resurfaced.Maldivian authorities are investigating multiple possible factors behind the accident, including whether the group descended far deeper than expected.A team of expert divers from Finland has recovered the technical equipment, including GoPro cameras worn by some of the group, which officials hope will give them a better understanding of how the tragedy unfolded. It comes as the bodies of the last two divers - Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino - were recovered today, bringing recovery efforts to an end. The group of five that entered the cave was led by Monica Montefalcone, 51, a University of Genoa professor and marine ecologist who was a regular diver in Maldivian waters in the Indian Ocean, and also included her daughter, Giorgia. Montefalcone's body, as well as that of university researcher Federico Gualtieri were recovered on Tuesday.The body of boat captain and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti was the first to be retrieved last week. Screen grab shows an expert diver swimming through caves in search of the victims' bodies in the Maldives The body of Giorgia Sommacal was recovered today Researcher Muriel Oddenino was among the group of five divers who died in the Maldives. Her body was recovered from a deep-sea cave today Diving tragedy victim Monica Montefalcone, 51, was a respected marine biologist, TV personality, and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa Gianluca Benedetti, 44, was a diving instructor. His body was the first to be found last week Federico Gualtieri, 31, was a researcher and diver among the five who died in the Maldives last week He was found at the mouth of the Thinwana Kandu cave, also known as Shark Cave, while the other four were located 'pretty much together' in the cavern's third and final chamber.Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, said in interviews to Italian media that his wife would have never put her daughter or others at risk. He described her as 'one of the best divers in the world' who had carried out about 5,000 dives and was 'always conscientious' and 'never reckless.''I’m sorry, I wasn’t there, and I’m no expert, and from what I’m seeing and reading, even the experts don’t have definite answers but are merely making hypotheses – lots of them,' he told Reuters in a WhatsApp message.Montefalcone was a respected marine biologist, TV personality, and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa. Her daughter, Giorgia, was 22 years old.Sommacal said on Friday that footage taken on a GoPro camera could reveal the mystery surrounding their deaths.Speaking to Italian news outlet La Repubblica, the devastated husband said: 'Monica usually had a GoPro when she went diving.'I don't know if she had one the other day. If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened.''She would never have put our daughter's life or that of others at risk... something must have happened down there,' he said.'Maybe one of them had trouble, maybe the oxygen tanks, I have no idea.'Sommacal added that one of the divers on the expedition, Benedetti, was 'meticulous.''He checked everything: the tanks, the weather conditions. He's not a fool,' Sommacal said. 'It must have been fate; they took every precaution possible.'Authorities are probing whether the divers may have become disoriented due to bad weather and poor visibility on the day of the incident. The divers were carrying 12-litre oxygen tanks, while Montefalcone was wearing a short diving suit - both unsuitable for the depths at which they were diving. Investigators are also looking into whether the divers were carrying flashlights and using the 'Ariadne's Thread' - a guide rope required for deep-sea cave expeditions.Among the theories that have emerged, the possibility that the divers were sucked into a cave by a strong 'freak' current is being considered.According to the president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, Alfonso Bolognini, the five divers might have been pulled into the crevice by a powerful current called the 'Venturi effect'.This phenomenon occurs when flowing water enters a narrow choke point, forcing it to speed up, which creates suction.Meanwhile, Italian authorities are arranging for the bodies of the divers to be repatriated so that they can carry out autopsies to determine the cause of death.The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip has denied authorising or being aware of the deep dive that violated local limits, its lawyer told newspaper Corriere della Sera on Saturday.Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator 'did not know' the group planned to descend beyond 98ft – the recreational diving limit in the Maldives.That threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities, and the tour operator 'would have never allowed it', she said.The dive far exceeded what was planned for a scientific cruise focused on coral sampling at standard depths, Stella added.
Divers may have been 'sucked into undersea cave by freak current'
Footage taken on body cameras worn by a group of Italian divers who died while exploring deep-sea caves in the Maldives could reveal how their final moments unfolded.












