A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave.
Maldives Presidential Spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef said that Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.
“The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” he said.
The rescue diver was searching for the remains of four divers from a group of five Italian divers believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 160 feet in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters, or about 98 feet.
Earlier, Shareef said the searchers had prepared a plan based on their progress exploring the cave on Friday. Mahudhee was part of the group that briefed Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.
