Maldivian officials say they approved an Italian-led expedition to study soft corals, but were not told the group planned to carry out a high-risk cave dive at the site where five divers later died.
Presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef said the government granted a permit for research on soft corals at the Devana Kandu site in Vaavu Atoll and was informed that the team would conduct deep dives, but not that the work involved cave diving.
"What we didn't know was that it was cave diving," he said, adding that authorities are now examining whether the organizers followed all required procedures, according to ABC News.
Shareef also said the operation of the vessel used by the group, the Duke of York, has been suspended because it did not hold the dive school permit required to take divers on expeditions under Maldivian regulations.
The five Italians died on May 14 after entering an underwater cave near Alimatha Island, in Vaavu Atoll, at a depth of around 50 to 60 meters, according to Maldivian and Italian officials.
One body, believed to be that of diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, was recovered soon after the accident, while the other four were later found deep inside the cave. Italy's Foreign Ministry has said the group "seemingly perished while trying to explore underwater caves at a depth of 50 meters."
The victims have been identified by Maldivian authorities as scientist Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and instructor Benedetti.
The University of Genoa said Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official mission to monitor marine environments and the impacts of climate change, while Sommacal and Gualtieri were not formally part of the university research project.
In a statement, the university stressed that the cave dive was not part of the planned activities of the mission and was carried out on a personal basis.
Maldivian officials have not publicly released the full research proposal, but have said some of the people who died were not listed as members of the official research team covered by the permit, US News reported.
Local media and academic statements have also distinguished between those on the formal research mission and those present as students or guests, without detailing every name on the permit.
Authorities in Malé have opened an investigation into whether required safety measures and planning were followed, while prosecutors in Rome have launched a culpable homicide inquiry into the circumstances of the dive.
A Maldivian military diver died from decompression sickness during the early stages of the search, prompting a temporary suspension of recovery efforts. Specialized Finnish cave divers later joined Maldivian teams and located the remaining four bodies in a third chamber of the cave, officials and media reports said.
Investigators are now reviewing factors, including depth, currents, and gas management, to understand how the dive became the deadliest recorded scuba incident in the Maldives, as per the BBC.
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