5 Italian Divers Likely Took Wrong Tunnel in 60-Meter Maldives Cave, CEO Says

6 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 22

Five Italian divers who died in a Maldives cave likely became trapped after entering a dead-end corridor and failing to find the exit with only minutes of air left, recovery firm CEO Laura Marroni said.
Finnish divers working for Dan Europe found four bodies together about 50 meters down in a pitch-black section of the cave, while the Maldivian guide's body had been recovered earlier in the first cavern.
The cave's exit route includes a nearly 30-meter corridor and a sandbank that can sharply reduce visibility on the way out, a condition that may have disoriented the group inside the multi-chamber system.
The bodies were recovered on Tuesday and Wednesday after a Maldivian military attempt was halted when one rescuer died from decompression complications; investigators will review photos and video from the operation.
Maldives authorities are also examining how the tourists were allowed to dive to 60 meters even though the country's limit for tourists is 30 meters, in what officials called the nation's worst single diving accident.

Were experienced scientists pushing research limits, or reckless tourists breaking rules in a deadly underwater maze?

As a Finnish team prepares a grim recovery, can the Maldives prevent its reefs from becoming tombs?