According to what we understand, the first body recovered yesterday in the Maldives after the tragic dive of the Italian divers belongs to Gianluca Benedetti. Initial reports had indicated the Genoese biologist Monica Montefalcone as the first victim of the five Italians who lost their lives in the Vaavu atoll. Meanwhile, the search for the bodies of the other four divers who died in a cave in the Maldives, over 60 meters deep, will resume tomorrow. Farnesina sources report that the searches were interrupted due to bad weather. The sea conditions are such that the boat they left from was unable to return to the port in Malè. On board the Duke of York there are 20 other compatriots who are well.
The investigations
The Rome Prosecutor’s Office is investigating in relation to the death of the five Italians which occurred yesterday in the Maldives. The investigators, coordinated by the chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, are awaiting communication from the consulate on the episode that cost the lives of Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino, Gianluca Benedetti and Federico Gualtieri. The five died during a dive at about 60 meters deep. The magistrates, in light of the documents that will arrive from the diplomatic headquarters, will evaluate the case for which to proceed and possibly entrust delegations to the police.
Meanwhile, the Italian Ambassador in Colombo, responsible for the Maldives, arrived in Malè to meet the heads of the coast guard present in the capital, while the rescue boats of the Maldivian Coast Guard arrived at the site of the accident in which 5 Italian divers died. On board there are divers from the Coast Guard and the police and an expert Italian diver who has already collaborated with the authorities. The Farnesina reports this in a note.
At the moment, weather conditions may prevent the start of recovery operations, but a first dive should be carried out to explore the access points of the cave, pending an improvement in weather conditions.
“It is believed that the other four divers are in the same cave where the first body was recovered, which extends to a depth of approximately 60 metres”, the Maldives National Defense Force (Mndf) reports in a statement, explaining that the ongoing operation for the search and recovery of the Italian divers is “high risk” and involves specialized divers, boats and air support. Complicating the picture, confirms the Maldivian authority, are the adverse weather conditions in the area, including strong winds and a yellow alert.
Gianluca’s mother: ‘You can imagine the pain I feel’
“I heard the news from the embassy, I can’t say anything at all and you can only imagine the pain. Now I’m with his partner.” These are the words of Gianluca Benedetti’s mother to Gazzettino, a few hours after the death of the 44-year-old from Padua in yesterday’s dive in the Vaavu atoll, in the Maldives. Benedetti, a professional diver, had pursued his career in the world of finance until 2018, working at the BCC in Piove di Sacco, in the province of Padua, initially as a cashier in the branch and then in the business center. Eight years ago, the decision to make a radical life change. “He was very good, very fast and very smart, but he was a fish out of water and you could see that he was made for something else”, Gianni Benetello, former deputy director of the credit institution, tells Gazzettino. “He lived for nature, sport and at the first opportunity he gave up his job.”
The Verbania travel agency: ‘No one can make statements’
“Donatella Telli (the owner, ed.) is not at the office and in any case no one can make any statements”. It is when they respond from Albatros Top Boat of Verbania, the travel agency specializing in scientific cruises in the Maldives whose operation manager Gianluca Benedetti died yesterday, together with four other people, during a dive in the Vaavu atoll, in the Pacific Ocean. When calling the intercom at the gate where the agency is located, no one answers, but a person looks out into the courtyard to say that he will not speak about the incident. Two other victims were linked to the Verbanese travel agency: according to what was reported on the Albatros Top Boat website, the professor and researcher from the University of Genoa, Monica Montefalcone, “coordinated” the scientific cruises, while Federico Gualtieri from Omegna (Verbano-Cusio-Ossola) had taken part in several expeditions, also to collect material for his degree thesis in marine biology and ecology. This morning there are no people in front of the travel agency and the residential neighborhood where it is located, Suna, is in the rain like the rest of the city.
Student of the researcher: ‘She had asserted herself in a chauvinist world’
A passionate and strong woman who had made her way “in a way, that of diving, which is totally chauvinist”. The day after the tragedy in the Maldives, the former and current students of Monica Montefalcone, 52 years old, associate professor of Ecology at the Distav at the University of Genoa, described their teacher like this. “She made her passion shine through – says Nicoletta, one of the students – and she passed it on to everyone, damn if she did. But she was strong, she knew how to make her way in a difficult world for women”. Many people gathered at the department today. Eyes red with tears, words that get stuck in your throat and that you prefer to put off for another time. The boys and girls are organizing a collection to “buy a bouquet of flowers – they say – and leave it on the desk in his office”.
It is the most serious diving accident in the country’s history
This was reported by the authorities who recovered a body yesterday.
Maldives Tourism Minister Mohamed Ameen said the Coast Guard and security forces were combing the waters around the spot where the divers were reported missing yesterday afternoon.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic diving accident that occurred in Vaavu Atoll,” he said in a statement, “the Coast Guard and all relevant authorities are actively engaged in search and recovery operations.”
Monica Montefalcone and her daughter Giorgia, Federico Gualtieri, Muriel Oddenino and Giorgio Benedetti were diving in the atoll about 90 minutes by speedboat from the capital. Accidents related to diving and water sports are relatively rare in the archipelago, although at least 112 tourists have died in the past six years, including 42 while diving or snorkeling.