Missing GoPro detail emerges that could explain deaths of five Maldives tourists

A missing GoPro camera could hold the key to answering questions surrounding the tragic deaths of five Italian tourists who died during a scuba diving expedition in the Maldives.

As widely reported, the group vanished on Thursday (May 14), after failing to resurface from a dive in the waters of Vaavu Atoll near Alimatha island.

The victims were named as university ecology professor, Monica Montefalcone, and her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal.

The three other divers, two of whom were researchers, have been named as Muriel Oddenino of Turin, Gianluca Benedetti of Padua, and Federico Gualtieri of the northern town of Borgomanero.

A sixth person died during the recovery operation, and they have been identified as Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee.

The late man, who was a member of the Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard diving unit, was part of a team of eight rescue divers deployed during a recovery operation.

According to Maldivian Presidential Spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef, he died from "underwater decompression sickness" after reportedly falling ill during the mission and being rushed to the hospital.

The Maldivian military paid tribute to the diver, writing: "His courage, sacrifice, and service to the nation will always be remembered. Our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues."

The search operation was then paused as authorities awaited the arrival of three Finnish expert divers.

GoPro detail could reveal what happened underwater

As investigators continue trying to piece together the divers’ final moments, Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, revealed that his wife often carried a GoPro camera during dives.

He suggested in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the missing device could provide answers for the distraught relatives.

"I don't know if she had one the other day. If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened," he said.

Sommacal also defended his wife’s experience underwater, insisting she would never have acted recklessly. "She knows what to do even in times of difficulty," he said.

In a separate statement, he added: "Monica would never have put the lives of her daughter and the other children at risk through recklessness. Something happened down there," cited by The Sun.

Reports say the group had descended around 160 feet into an underwater cave after departing from the foreign-operated live-aboard diving vessel, the Duke of York.

Per Italian outlet liberoquotidiano.it, one unnamed University of Genoa student had originally prepared to join the dive before suddenly deciding to stay aboard the yacht.

The student has since been described as the "only direct survivor of that day" and is now considered a "key witness for reconstructing the final moments before the accident".

University mourns victims after tragedy

Four of the divers had connections to the University of Genoa, where Montefalcone worked as a respected professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science.

The university released a statement mourning the deaths: "The University of Genoa expresses its deep sorrow for the sudden and tragic death of Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of Ecology at the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences - DISTAV, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, a UniGe student in Biomedical Engineering, Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow at DISTAV, and Federico Gualtieri, a recent UniGe graduate in Marine Biology and Ecology.

"The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey."

Montefalcone had travelled to the Maldives to research the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity.

Just one day before the fatal dive, the 51-year-old scientist sent a haunting message to a colleague reflecting on the importance of marine research.

"It is fundamental to observe the underwater environment - which remains far too unknown to the general public - whether with our own eyes or through the lens of a robot," she wrote.

Our thoughts are with the families of all the victims.

Featured image credit: Muriel