COLOMBO: Three Finnish cave divers are joining efforts in the Maldives on Monday to try to find and recover the bodies of four Italian scuba divers who died in an accident in underwater caves, the DAN Europe divers’ network said. The team arrived on Sunday, DAN Europe said in a statement, after the incident in the Vaavu Atoll, where the Italian divers had been exploring caves at a depth of 50 meters (165 feet) on Thursday. The body of one of the Italian divers was recovered on Friday, the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) said in a statement on Friday.

An Italian expert has joined police divers and rescue vessels in the Maldives for searches after the death of five Italian divers in a scuba accident.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry said the five divers “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters (164 feet)” in the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday.