The first autopsy of one of the tragic Maldives divers has begun – with a theory emerging that wetsuits were behind the mysterious disaster.<\/p>\n
Five Italian tourists died while exploring a shark-infested cave before specialist teams were brought in to recover their remains and underwater gear.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsign up for Sun<\/span> Newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n One body was found at the time of the disaster on Thursday, while the other four were discovered and brought to the surface earlier this week.<\/p>\n Local authorities found the divers’ GoPro cameras \u2013 which will help them piece together their final moments.<\/p>\n According to Italian outlet Corriere, Professor Monica Montefalcon, who died in the tragedy along with her 22-year-old daughter Giorgia Somacal, was wearing a wetsuit at the time of the fatal dive.<\/p>\n A source told the newspaper it was not the appropriate type of suit to be used for deep sea diving.<\/p>\n fatal dive<\/p>\n Diver dies while searching for drowned Italians in Maldives, death toll rises to 6<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n haunted video<\/p>\n Bodycam found on divers’ remains may finally reveal how the tragedy unfolded<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The five holidaymakers, Montefalcon, Somacal, Gianluca Benedetti, Federico Gualtieri and Muriel Odenino, were diving to about 60 meters below the surface when they died, a depth much greater than local regulation.<\/p>\n Benedetti’s autopsy has now begun after he was flown back to Italy, according to authorities.<\/p>\n Somakal and Odenino were recovered from inside the “shark cave” on Wednesday by three expert Finnish divers.<\/p>\n The bodies of both divers were lifted one by one onto a support boat after they were taken to the surface by recovery teams.<\/p>\n Another new theory suggests that the expedition team may have been trapped in a complex cave where they ran out of breathing gas while trying to escape.<\/p>\n The very strong current caused by the cave’s narrow passages may have created a “Venturi effect”, where water accelerates to maintain a constant flow, reducing pressure and creating a vacuum.<\/p>\n Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, told Italian outlet Adchronos: \u201cTwo things could have happened after the suction.<\/p>\n “Either everyone was pulled in, or one was pulled in and the others attempted a rescue.”<\/p>\n The bodies of Montefalcon and university researcher Gualtieri were recovered on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The first body of Benedetti, a boat captain and experienced diving instructor, was found by rescue teams last week.<\/p>\n Each attempt to dive and retrieve the bodies lasted about three hours.<\/p>\n Sami Pakkarinen, Jenny Westerlund and Patrik Gronqvist worked on some of the world’s most difficult underwater recovery missions.<\/p>\n Search efforts were hampered by bad weather over the weekend, meaning divers could not afford to search for the missing team.<\/p>\n Diver Mohammed Mahudhi, a member of the Maldives’ military rescue team, died of decompression sickness in one of the only attempts on Saturday.<\/p>\n He bravely went down to search for victims but as soon as he returned to the surface he became seriously ill and later died.<\/p>\n The total number of deaths from the initial tragic dive and subsequent recovery operation now stands at six.<\/p>\n All the victims were highly experienced and officials were still trying to trace their fatal dive.<\/p>\n Monica’s husband and Giorgia’s father, Carlo Somacal, praised his wife as “one of the best divers on Earth”. <\/p>\n\n
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