2026 Thinwana Kandu cave diving incident

The cave with an entrance approximately between 55 and 58 meters from the surface is made up of three chambers. From the first chamber, one proceeds to a secondary one located below, and then to a third one located even further down, reaching a depth of over 100 metres, where in the third chamber the space becomes increasingly narrower until it ends. In the cave, under normal conditions, as witnessed by divers who visited it previously, there would be no currents.^[6]

Monica Montefalcone, 51, was a marine researcher and associate professor of Ecology at the University of Genoa. She worked for DISTAV, the university's Department of Earth, Environmental, and Life Sciences. She graduated with honors in Biological Sciences from the University of Milan, and dedicated much of her life to studying the coastal habitat of the Maldives, particularly the aquatic plant Posidonia oceanica. Since 2013, she was the scientific director of major research projects on the coral reefs of the Maldives. Accompanying her on this research and study immersion was her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, who for about 10 years had followed her mother in her explorations and scientific research of coastal habitats.^[7] Three of the five divers had authorization from the Maldivian authorities to dive to depths of 50 m^[8], rather than the normal 30-meter limit for recreational diving in the Maldives.^[9][10][11] A Maldivian government spokesperson stated that Professor Montefalcone's authorization did not specify cave penetration.^[8]

The divers dived on the morning of May 14, 2026. At 1.30pm no one had yet returned. Their dive boat MV Duke of York raised the alarm to the Maldivian authorities. The search for the missing began almost immediately but was stymied due to a weather warning in the area.^[12]. Maldivian authorities identified the Thinwana Kandu cave as the dive's objective and the presumed location of the missing divers.^[13] The Maldives government deployed military divers to recover the bodies, but this effort was called off when one of the military divers became ill during ascent and subsequently died.^[14]

Gianluca Benedetti was a diving instructor and the main contact for the dive and was the first to be recovered because he was lying in the first chamber of the cave, almost at the exit with his breathing gas tank empty.^[15] A Finnish team with more advanced equipment^[16][17], some of whom were involved in the Tham Luang cave rescue^[18] arrived following coordination with DAN Europe and requests by the Maldives and Italian authorities. On May 19th they successfully recovered the bodies of Monica Montefalcone and Federico Gualtieri and their equipment.^[19][20] The Finnish team transported the two bodies from the spot where they were found to a depth of approximately 30 meters, where Maldivian divers completed the transfer to the surface. The bodies were then loaded onto Coast Guard vessels and taken by the police to the morgue. On May 20, 2026, the bodies of Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino were also recovered from the cave by the Finnish team assisted by Maldive military divers.^[21]

Lack of correct equipment and/or training were reported in the press as possible factors in the incident.^[22][23][24] The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Maldives, however the Rome Prosecutor's Office is also investigating for manslaughter.^[25][26]

A preliminary assessment released by DAN Europe in collaboration with Maldivian authorities suggests that it is likely that the divers became disorientated within the cave system and were unable to find their way back out.^[27]

• Divers Alert Network
• Divers Alert Network Europe
• MNDF Coast Guard
• MNDF Marine Corps