World3 min(s) read
Published 10:29 19 May 2026 GMT
New footage of the isolated underwater cave where five Italian divers died has surfaced and sparked new speculations surrounding their deaths.
Days after the difficult search began, four bodies were found inside Thinwana Kandu cave, also known as “shark cave,” on Monday, by expert Finnish divers.
The fifth member of the group was found on Thursday, the same day the university research team went missing.
The bodies of Monica Montefalcone, 52, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, 20, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, 31, and researcher Muriel Oddenino, 31, were found inside the cave at a depth of 160 feet.
Ahmed Shaam, a Maldives government spokesperson, said: "The four bodies were found inside the cave, not only inside the cave but well inside the cave into the third segment of the cave, which is the largest part. Pretty much together.”
Around 60 miles south of the capital Male, the inside of the murky Thinwana Kandu cave, known locally as “Shark Cave”, has been exposed in an eerie video.
The tense footage shows a diver navigating a seemingly never-ending series of narrow, winding passages inside the dark cave.
Aside from one huge threatening stingray, the cave is completely desolate, a terrifying place to spend your last moments.
The entrance to the cave is between 180 and 190 feet, forking into different tunnels and quickly becoming pitch-black.
While several theories about why the divers lost their lives have emerged, Montefalcone’s husband told an Italian newspaper he believes “something happened down there”.
Carlo Sommacal told La Repubblica daily: “She would never have put her daughter’s life or the lives of the other children at risk out of recklessness."
He described his wife as “one of the best divers on earth” and was adamant that she would not have dived if she was aware of the weather warning.
Self-proclaimed experienced diver, Marc Randazza, shared his dark theory on X, saying: “I’ve been diving for 30 years. Rescue and deep dive certified.
“These divers were effectively dead the moment they went in the water.
“At 150ft, with recreational gear and without a special gas mix, you’re already dead.
“There was no possible way they were coming back, whether they panicked or not."
A local search diver, Sgt. Major Mohamed Mahudhee, also lost his life to the Maldives’ worst-ever diving disaster when he died trying to locate the missing tourists.
Finnish elite diving trio, Sami Paakkarinen, Jenni Westerlund, and Patrik Grönqvist, arrived on the island nation on Sunday to help local authorities with the search.
The divers took part in the successful rescue of 13 boys from a Thai soccer team in 2018 after days trapped in a cave, which got international media attention.
