Five Italians Died in 60-Meter Maldives Cave After Taking Wrong Tunnel

5 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 21

Finnish rescue divers found the five Italians in a dead-end corridor inside a Maldives cave complex about 165 feet underwater, suggesting they took the wrong exit route and could not get out.
Laura Marroni, CEO of the diving company involved, said the divers were using standard tanks and had only about 10 minutes or less at that depth, leaving little margin once they became disoriented.
The cave's layout may have trapped them: a sandbank can hide the correct corridor on the return, while a nearby short passage leads only to a dead end where all five bodies were found.
Maldives authorities are also investigating how the group was allowed to dive to 60 meters when tourist dives are limited to 30 meters in the country.
Officials called it the Maldives' worst single diving accident; among the dead were University of Genoa researchers on a scientific mission, and local media say 42 tourists have died in diving or snorkeling accidents in six years.

A sandbank, faulty gear, or fatal error? What sealed the fate of five divers in a Maldivian cave?

Why did an expert-led team ignore safety laws in the Maldives' deadliest diving accident?