President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu travelled to Vaavu Atoll on Friday to visit the site of the ongoing search and recovery operation for four Italian divers who remain missing following Thursday’s accident, the deadliest diving incident in the country’s history.
During the visit, the President met with members of the search and rescue teams deployed to the area and received a briefing on the progress of the operation. He is scheduled to return to Male early Friday evening.
The President’s visit underscores the level of government attention being given to the response. The Maldives is coordinating closely with Italian authorities, with an Italian expert joining the operation on Friday to assist the Maldivian Coast Guard. The Italian embassy in Colombo is providing consular support to the families of the victims.
The accident occurred near the island of Alimatha, where five Italian divers failed to resurface from a deep cave dive on Thursday afternoon. The body of one diver, identified as University of Genoa marine ecology professor Monica Montefalcone, was recovered from a cave at a depth of around 60 metres on Thursday evening. The remaining four are believed to be inside the same cave system, which the Maldives National Defence Force has described as a highly dangerous, high-risk operation.
The tragedy has drawn international attention to the Maldives, a country whose tourism economy is closely tied to its reputation as one of the world’s premier diving destinations. Vaavu Atoll, in particular, is known internationally for its underwater caves and strong currents that draw advanced divers from around the world. While serious diving accidents in the Maldives are rare, the scale of Thursday’s incident has prompted questions abroad about the regulation of technical and cave diving in the country, with local rules capping recreational dives at 30 metres.
The government has said the search for the four missing divers remains its highest priority.
