The remaining bodies of two Italian divers who went missing during a cave diving expedition near Alimatha in Vaavu Atoll have been recovered, completing a multi-day search and recovery operation involving Maldivian authorities and foreign expert divers.

According to the Maldives National Defence Force, the operation resumed after the arrival of three Finnish diving specialists who travelled to the Maldives at the request of the Italian government. Authorities had earlier recovered two bodies on Tuesday after all four remaining missing divers were located inside the cave where the group had been diving.

The incident occurred on 14 May after five Italian nationals went missing while diving in Alimatha Cave. The MNDF Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and police received reports of the incident at approximately 1:45 p.m., after which search operations were launched using maritime and aerial assets.

Authorities stated that a body was recovered on the day of the incident from a section of the cave around 60 metres deep. The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, 51; Giorgia Somacal, 20; Muriel Odenino, 31; Gianluca Benedetti, 41; and Federico Gualtieri, 31.

Recovery operations conducted by the MNDF diving team were suspended following the death of Sergeant First Class Mohamed Mahudhee, who died while participating in the mission on Saturday.

Authorities in both the Maldives and Italy have launched investigations into the incident. According to Italian media reports, prosecutors in Italy have opened a culpable homicide investigation and are expected to obtain statements from the crew and management of the safari vessel involved in the expedition. Autopsies are also expected to be conducted after the bodies are repatriated to Italy.