Bodies of Italian divers did not have optimal equipment, says rescuer

A member of the diving team that recovered the bodies of Italian scuba divers in the Maldives has said the equipment they were found with "was not optimal".

Images from inside the cave where the four Italians were discovered earlier this week were taken by Finnish diver Sami Paakkarinen, who told Italian media "the bodies were all together in one section of the cave", which he said was very deep and "very challenging".

The body of the first diver was found soon after the five disappeared in a scuba diving accident at the 60-metre-deep (197ft) cave in Vaavu Atoll.

It took several days before the rest of the group were found deep inside the cave by a team of specialist Finnish and Maldivian divers.

A Maldivian rescue diver died last weekend while searching for the bodies of the group.

It is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.

The four bodies found earlier this week are expected to be repatriated to Italy on Saturday and post mortem examinations will take place in the coming days.

Paakkarinen told La Repubblica newspaper that when the team found the bodies they realised the cause could have been a "tragic human error" but ultimately it would be for investigators to determine what happened.

He also questioned why the divers were inside the cave "without the proper equipment" as he said himself and his fellow rescuers would never have ventured into such an environment without a scuba diving reel or guide rope for safety which he described as "Ariadne's thread".

The diving reel is used to guide divers through complicated or hazardous terrain underwater.

"In general, for those who visit caves, it's known that it's not very wise to do so without a safety line.

"Unfortunately, in most cave diving accidents, the main cause is always human error."

Paakkarinen was careful not to go into detail but said "the equipment we found them with wasn't optimal. They weren't using underwater caving gear".

Two of the Italian divers - Prof Monica Montefalcone and research fellow Muriel Oddenino from the University of Genoa - were in the Maldives looking at the impact of climate change on biodiversity.

Giorgia Sommacal, Prof Montefalcone's daughter and a student at the university, and Federico Gualtieri, who was a recent graduate, were also part of the diving group.

The first Italian victim to be recovered was boat operations manager and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.

The group entered the water at Vaavu Atoll on 14 May and were reported missing when they failed to resurface later on.

Police said the weather was rough in the area, about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Male, when the group went missing. A yellow warning was issued for passenger boats and fishermen.