World2 min(s) read
Published 09:13 16 May 2026 GMT
How one member of a group of Italian tourists who died during a scuba diving trip in the Maldives reportedly survived has been shared after the tragedy claimed five lives.
According to Italian outlet liberoquotidiano.it, the unnamed University of Genoa student had fully prepared to dive alongside the rest of the group before suddenly deciding to remain aboard the yacht, the Duke of York, while the others descended around 160 feet into an underwater cave in Vaavu Atoll near Alimatha island.
The woman was described as the “only direct survivor of that day” and is now considered a “key witness for reconstructing the final moments before the accident.”
Five divers never resurfaced from the excursion, including University of Genoa marine biology professor Monica Montefalcone and her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal.
The other victims were named as Muriel Oddenino from Turin, Gianluca Benedetti from Padua, and Federico Gualtieri from Borgomanero.
Authorities said there were around two dozen non-crew members on board throughout Thursday, though it remains unclear exactly why the student chose not to dive at the last minute. Reports state she was due to return home to her family on Friday.
Search efforts were suspended the following day due to severe weather conditions, while local police launched an investigation into the fatal incident.
Experts have since suggested several possible causes behind the fatal incident, including oxygen toxicity and panic inside the underwater cave.
Pulmonologist Claudio Micheletto told Adnkronos: “It’s likely that something went wrong with the tanks.”
He added: “Death from oxygen toxicity, or hyperoxia, is one of the most dramatic deaths that can occur during a dive — a horrible end.”
Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, also suggested panic may have contributed to the disaster.
“Inside a cave at a depth of 50 meters, all it takes is a problem for a diver or a panic attack for a diver,” he explained.
