The Maldives Coast Guard has resumed diving to recover the bodies of the 4 Italian divers missing in last Thursday’s accident. This was announced by the Farnesina.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is in contact with the Italian ambassador in Colombo Damiano Francovigh (responsible for the Maldives) and the honorary consul in Malè Giorgia Marazzi who have embarked on the ‘Ghazee’ support unit of the coast guard to follow the recovery operations.
Tajani instructed the Farnesina to follow the recovery of the bodies, but also to offer assistance to the families of the missing and to his compatriots who will now have to return to Italy. At your request, the Maldivian police will provide a team set up for psychological support for the compatriots involved. The ‘Duke of York’, the yacht on which the 25 Italian tourists were hosted, including the 5 missing divers, has just reached the capital Malé.
At the moment, eight Maldivian divers are taking turns in operations at sea. The two first operators have already dived to locate and precisely report the entry point of the series of caves where the Italian divers disappeared. Another 6 divers will dive subsequently, in various shifts, to try to locate the bodies and bring them back to the surface.
The Maldives Ministry of Tourism said today that the operating license of the ‘MV Duke of York’, the safari boat of the five Italian divers who died during the dive, has been suspended following the accident in the province. The local press reported it.
The ministry said the license was indefinitely revoked and suspended due to the severity of the incident. The ministry expressed its condolences to the families of the tourists and thanked those who were involved in the searches. He also said that the authorities are engaged in the ongoing search for the other four bodies not yet recovered.