The husband of the Italian dive team leader who died in the Maldives underwater cave tragedy has defended his wife’s reputation, insisting she was among the world’s best divers and had never been reckless throughout her diving career.
Carlo Sommacal said his wife, Monica Montefalcone, was a highly experienced diver who had completed around 5,000 dives over the years.
Montefalcone, a professor at the University of Genoa and respected marine ecologist, led a group of five Italian divers who died while exploring an underwater cave system at Devana Kandu in the Maldives last Thursday.
Among those killed were her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
The disaster has since been described as the worst diving tragedy in Maldives history.
Speaking about the incident, Carlo said the extensive experience possessed by his wife proved she always prioritised safety during dives.
“I’m not an expert and I was not there, but from what I’ve read, even experts still don’t have clear answers and are only forming different theories,” he said.
The Maldives government revealed that authorities had only approved a research permit involving soft coral studies in the area and were not informed that the team intended to conduct cave diving activities.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef said cave diving was a completely different discipline involving major risks, especially at such extreme depths.
“A lot can happen during cave diving,” he told Reuters.
Expert divers from Finland managed to recover two bodies from inside the cave system on Monday, while Benedetti’s body had earlier been found outside the cave on the day the group disappeared.
The search mission itself turned tragic after a Maldives military diver died from decompression sickness while participating in the rescue operation.
Divers Alert Network Europe, which led the recovery mission, said advanced technical systems including closed-circuit breathing equipment were used during the operation.
Veteran Maldivian diver Shafraz Naeem, who has explored the Devana Kandu cave system more than 30 times, said the cave entrance lies at a depth of around 55 metres.
According to him, sunlight only reaches the first chamber before the cave becomes completely dark.
“Diving with compressed air at that depth is extremely dangerous,” he explained.
“In theory, oxygen toxicity can begin at around 55 metres. It is highly risky and unpredictable.”
However, former diving instructor to Muriel Oddenino, Riccardo Gambacorta, said he did not believe oxygen toxicity alone caused the deaths.
“I believe there may have been an unexpected underwater incident. They may have encountered something they did not anticipate inside the cave,” he said.
Authorities are also investigating whether strong underwater currents may have forced the group deeper than originally planned.
Meanwhile, the operation licence of the dive boat involved, MV Duke of York, has been temporarily suspended over allegations it lacked the required diving school permit under Maldivian law.
Boat operator Abdul Muhsin Moosa defended the vessel, saying it held a valid permit for recreational diving activities up to 30 metres.
He added that all divers had been briefed about Maldives’ recreational diving limits and were prohibited from exceeding those depths.
As investigations continue, the mystery surrounding the deadly “shark cave” tragedy remains unsolved, with experts still divided over what exactly caused the experienced divers to perish deep beneath the sea.
