Posted on 05/17/2026 7:11:46 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A veteran Maldivian diver alleges the five Italians who died trapped in a deep underwater cave didn’t have the required government authorization to undertake such a perilous dive, and would still be alive today if the rules had been followed.
A group of five Italian scuba divers died exploring the Alimathaa cave in the Vaavu Atoll Thursday, at a depth of about 160 feet, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry.
Shafraz Naeem, a instructor-trainer with 30 years of technical diving experience and advisor to the Maldives National Defence Force, has done more than 50 dives in the cave where the group disappeared and even a Coast Guard diver died Saturday.
The entrance to the cave is between 180 and 190 feet deep, and it extends some 330 feet inward, before branching off into narrow tunnels that continue ever deeper...
The maximum allowed diving depth in the Maldives is 100 feet for a recreational dive, which is what the ship, the Duke of York — a foreign-operated live-aboard yacht that had another 20 tourists on board and is listed as a PADI Five Star Dive Resort — offers.
Both the Italian tour company, Albatros, that runs the boat, and the University of Genoa, that sent the researchers on scientific mission to the Maldives, said they had not authorized the dive.
...
A group of eight divers from the Maldives Coast Guard failed to recover any remains Saturday, and one of them died of suspected decompression sickness in the efforts. A specialized team from Finland is en route to take over the operation.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Can’t outlaw dumbassedness.
Two feet is plenty deep enough for me.
Most safety rules are there for a reason, not just as something to be rebelled against and ignored.
Posted on 5/14/2026, 7:50:13 PM by Red Badger
Then it gets worse....
Diver dies after searching for bodies of tourists killed in Maldives scuba tragedy
NY Post ^ | 5-16-26 | Katherine Donlevy and Gabrielle Fahmy
Posted on 5/16/2026, 10:27:51 AM by dynachrome
How sad one of the recovery team members died.
Unbelievable recklessness. Even I would have known better.
It’s like Dunning and Kruger formed a swim team.
How do they even find these places to begin win.
S/b: …to begin with?
Exactly, all because of entitled idiots that thought the rules didn't apply to them. Too many first responders and rescue/recovery team members lose their lives unnecessarily because of fools like this.
Yes. Seems to me that "rescuers" should have been inside the boat's cabin controlling an underwater drone with gaff hook
Safety rules are written in blood. I’m not a safety Nazi, I’ve been known to break a few although I’m well aware of the consequences when I do.
Yes, that’s the infuriating thing, isn’t it?
All are authorized, few are certified.
Bicyclist mentality.
We dont have to follow rules.
Diving is great fun. Until you cant breath any more. The attitude of the Dive Master is to blame, manslaughter 5X.
My Seiko is user tested to 120’. No way you would get me in an underwater cave. I dont like confined spaces above the water, let alone 190’. If everyone knew the rules were being broken they shouldnt be too concerned about someone dying on the trip. Boatload full of idiots.
Thats how confined spaces work. They will kill the entire team and not care one little bit. You’re dead.
I wonder if they were doing Nitrox dive? Extra tanks and weight means the dive is even “more technical”.
I lost two relatives, a father and adult son, when the Mexican dive boat people lost them in a deep water wall climb. Scuba is for fish and fools.
From what I've read. one diver made it out the cave and the body was recovered. Depending on currents in the cave, the bodies may never be recovered.
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