A Maldivian military diver has died during a high-risk operation to recover the bodies of four of the Italian scuba divers who drowned while exploring a deep underwater cave in the Maldives.
The diver suffered underwater decompression sickness after searching for the bodies of the Italians who, according to Italy’s foreign ministry, had “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 metres (164ft)”.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, the Maldives presidential spokesperson, said that Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian national defence force, died of the sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital, Male.
“The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” he said.
Authorities had temporarily suspended attempts to recovery the bodies on Friday, ow