World3 min(s) read
Published 12:10 26 May 2026 GMT
A mortician has explained what happened to the bodies of the five Italian divers who tragically died during their expedition to Thinwana Kandu cave in the Maldives.
Known locally as “Shark Cave”, the divers aimed to descend and explore the cave, but they would sadly die at least 60 feet underwater in the Maldivian cave.
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 reported missing after they failed to surface on May 14.
Photos of the cave, where the divers were found, were recently uploaded by Finnish rescue divers.
Sadly, one Maldives National Defense Forces' search and rescue team member died during rescue efforts.
It was also recently reported that four of the victims' bodies were repatriated to Milan on Saturday (May 23) for Italian prosecutors to continue with their manslaughter investigation.
But what happened to the bodies underwater?
A mortician known online as 'Lauren the Mortician' has explained in a video that the divers' bodies would have changed while being submerged underwater for nearly a week after going missing.
She revealed: "The divers' bodies were turned over to the Maldivian authorities, who are overseeing the investigation and autopsy process, before the victims can eventually be released back to their families.
"From a mortuary science perspective, a week underwater is a long time, especially in warm tropical salt water, because decomposition does not stop underwater. It just changes."
She said that while decomposition after death is normal and expected, it isn't "normal to die in a cave system."
"Now, a lot of people imagine underwater bodies immediately floating around dramatically like in the movies, but that's usually not what happens initially," she admitted.
"Most bodies actually sink at first, especially divers because they're wearing heavy tanks, weight systems, wet suits, gear, and equipment specifically designed to help control buoyancy underwater.
"But as decomposition begins, bacteria inside the body naturally start producing gases. And over time, those gases can create buoyancy changes," Lauren explained.
Apparently, it gets "especially interesting" when speaking about the effects in deep water, as the mortician added: "At depths like 165 ft, that pressure underwater is incredibly intense.
"We've established that the pressure compresses gases inside the body, which can delay the bloating and floating people normally associate with decomposition."
Lauren revealed that bodies which are at depth will remain submerged for far longer than most would think.
She added: "Which is why I found one recovery detail especially interesting - (which was) when one of the divers was found floating against the roof of the cave while the other three were found lower toward the cave floor."
"Scientifically, that actually makes sense because that underwater buoyancy after death can dramatically vary depending on your body composition, how much residual trapped air you have inside your equipment, your own bodily decomposition gases, the positioning of the body, currents, weights, and even tiny differences in their gear setup," the expert explained.
So despite the divers exploring the same cave system, their bodies likely wouldn't have behaved the same way while submerged for six days.
