A vacation in paradise ended in tragedy for five Italian tourists in the Maldives. A group of tourists died while exploring underwater caves 160 feet below the surface in the Vaavu Atoll, according to local media. Last Thursday morning, the tourists set off for their diving expedition. When they didn’t resurface around midday, authorities began to receive reports of divers’ disappearances. Their bodies were later recovered in a search and rescue operation. Initial reports indicated that the tourists disappeared near Alimatha, one of the most popular diving spots in the atoll. Two of the victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, a 51-year-old marine biologist, and Giorgia Sommacal, her 20-year-old daughter. The three other victims were identified by name as Muriel Oddenino, Gianluca Benedetti, and Federico Gualtieri of Borgomanero. The Italian foreign ministry has confirmed the deaths. “Following an accident during a scuba dive, five Italians died in the Vaavu atoll, in the Maldives,” it said in a statement.
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