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Bodycams found on divers killed in Maldives could reveal final moments

May 21, 2026

IDOPRESS

Monica Montefalcone one of the five Italian scuba divers who died (Picture: Greenpeace via AP)

Bodycams have been found with the divers killed in a Maldives cave which could finally reveal what happened in their final moments.

Five Italians on a research trip died during a dive into the 160 ft deep ‘shark cave’ in the Devana Kandu cave system last week.

The bodies of ecology professor Monica Montefalcone,her daughter Giorgia Sommacal,researcher Muriel Oddenino,and marine biologist Federico Gualtieri have now all been retrieved.

They were accompanied by diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti,whose body was found last week.

In total six people have been killed as part of the cave dive,with Maldivian military rescue diver Mohamed Mahudhee dying from decompression illness on Saturday during a recovery mission.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.In total six people have died during the dive,including ecology professor Monica Montefalcone (left) and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal (right)Federico Gualtieri,a marine biologist,died during the cave dive on Thursday.Three expert divers who recovered four of the bodies handed over GoPro cameras which were found with the group.The footage has not yet been made public.But it is hoped they could piece together the group’s final moments as investigators scramble to figure out what happened to the group who went deep below the recommended depth.They were on a research trip about soft corals on Thursday morning when the group is believed to have died around 160 ft deep.They had launched the expedition from the Duke of York yacht,which did not have a permit allowing dives of more than 100 ft.Researcher Muriel Oddenino had been on an official scientific mission with Ms Montefalcone prior to the dive (Picture: Facebook)Gianluca Benedetti’s body was the first to be recovered last weekMonica’s husband and dad of Giorgia Carlo Sommacal told Italian media his wife ‘was one of the best divers in the world’ and would never put his daughter at risk.He said she had carried out about 5,000 dives and was ‘never reckless’.The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip has denied authorising or knowing about the group’s deep dive,which exceeded local limits,its lawyer told Italian local publication Corriere della Sera.An investigation is underway to establish the cause of death.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.

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