First pictures inside Maldives cave where six divers lost their lives

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4 days ago

Five Italians on a research trip were killed during a dive into the 160 ft deep ‘shark cave’ in the Devana Kandu cave system last week (Picture: Instagram/DanEurope)

First images from Maldives cave released Finnish elite divers have posted the first pictures from the cave where five Italian divers died on Instagram. Into Thinwana Kandu / Part I At the cave entrance. - The first striking images from the cave system, captured during the final dive of the mission by @sami_paakkarinen for DAN. For the first time, the photos show the rescue team operating inside the initial cavern section where natural light still filters through the entrance before the system descends into darkness. - Honor to the rescuers and the team. A prayer for the victims and their loved ones. We continue to work closely with the authorities as the case moves forward. — Five Italians on a research trip were killed during a dive into the 160 ft deep ‘shark cave’ in the Devana Kandu cave system last week (Picture: Instagram/DanEurope)

The first pictures from the Maldives cave where six people have died have been released.

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

Images published by Dan Europe reveal the underwater passages before natural light diminishes and the tunnels are plunged into darkness.

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

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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Images published by Dan Europe reveal the underwater passages before natural light diminishes and the tunnels are plunged into darkness

In total six people have been killed as part of the cave dive

Sharing the pictures on Instagram, diving organisation Dan Europe said: ‘Natural light still filters through the entrance before the system descends into darkness.’

The pro-divers found the Italians in a corridor with a dead-end inside, Italy’s daily newspaper La Repubblica reported.

The company’s CEO said: ‘There was no way out from there,.’

Near the entrance to the cave there is a very large and bright cavern with a sandy bottom, with a corridor at the end.

The corridor has little light but ‘visibility, using artificial lighting, was excellent’, the CEO said.

There is another corridor in the chamber which can easily be confused for the one the divers entered through due to a sandbank which looks like a wall obstructing vision

It was 30 metres long , leading to a second chamber which is large but has no natural light.

But there is another corridor in the chamber which can easily be confused for the one the divers entered through due to a sandbank which looks like a wall obstructing vision.

This corridor is only a few metres long, but was where the divers’ bodies were discovered.

Marroni said: ‘The divers’ bodies were all found inside, as if they had mistaken it for the right one.’

Due to limited air supply, it would have been difficult for the divers to return.

Marroni said: ‘Realising that the path is the wrong one and having little air, perhaps after going back and forth, is terrifying. Then you breathe quickly, and the air supply decreases.’

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