2026年5月17日 / 美国东部时间上午7:47 / 美联社 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
三名芬兰潜水员于周日抵达马尔代夫，旨在为搜寻据称深陷水下洞穴的四名意大利潜水员遗体制定新方案。此前一名当地军方潜水员在尝试展开营救的高危任务中遇难，搜寻行动一度暂停。
据意大利外交部消息，这支由五名意大利潜水员组成的团队据称于周四在瓦武环礁一处约160英尺（约50米）深的洞穴中探险时遇难。马尔代夫的休闲潜水上限为98英尺（约30米）。
马尔代夫总统发言人穆罕默德·侯赛因·谢里夫表示，马尔代夫国防军成员穆罕默德·马胡迪在周六被转运至首都医院后，因水下减压病去世，搜寻行动因此暂停。
谢里夫周日表示，三名擅长深潜和洞穴潜水的芬兰潜水员已抵达这个群岛国家，并与马尔代夫海岸警卫队举行会议，旨在制定新的搜寻策略。
马胡迪已于周六晚间以军事荣誉下葬，总统穆罕默德·穆伊兹出席了葬礼。该潜水员曾在穆伊兹周五到访搜救现场时，向其简要介绍了营救计划。
恶劣天气多次阻碍了救援行动。
意大利外交部称，周六的搜救行动共有八名当地潜水员轮班作业，以定位遗体。首批潜水队已下潜，确认并标记了意大利潜水员失踪的洞穴系统入口。遇难原因仍在调查中。
意大利外交部长安东尼奥·塔亚尼表示，将尽一切努力将遇难者遗体运回国内。他对救援行动中遇难的马尔代夫潜水员表示哀悼。
据马尔代夫政府消息，遇难者已被确认身份：热那亚大学生态学科副教授莫妮卡·蒙特法尔科内、她的女儿乔治娅·索马卡尔、海洋生物学家费德里科·瓜尔蒂耶里、研究员穆里尔·奥登迪诺，以及潜水教练吉安卢卡·贝内德蒂。
贝内德蒂的遗体已于周四在洞穴入口附近被找到。当局认为其余四人已进入洞穴内部。
热那亚大学周五在一份声明中表示，蒙特法尔科内和奥登迪诺是在马尔代夫执行官方科学任务，监测海洋环境并研究气候变化对热带生物多样性的影响。但声明称，导致这一致命事故的水肺潜水活动并非计划内研究的一部分，而是“私下进行的”。
声明还表示，另外两名遇难者——学生索马卡尔和应届毕业生瓜尔蒂耶里并未参与此次科学任务。
蒙特法尔科内的丈夫、乔治娅的父亲卡洛·索马卡尔对事故表示质疑，称鉴于妻子和女儿丰富的潜水经验，“水下一定发生了什么状况”。
他在接受意大利电视台采访时表示，蒙特法尔科内是一名谨慎且纪律性极强的潜水员，绝不会让女儿或其他同事陷入危险。
负责此次潜水旅行的意大利旅游运营商的律师周六告诉意大利《晚邮报》，该运营商既未批准也不知道此次超出限定范围的深潜活动。
代表阿尔巴特罗斯顶级游船公司的奥里埃塔·斯特拉表示，该运营商“完全不知道”该团队计划下潜至30米深度以上。这一深度阈值需要获得马尔代夫海事当局的特别许可，而该运营商“绝不会允许此类行为”，她说道。
斯特拉补充道，此次潜水远超此次科学巡航的原定计划——原本仅计划在标准深度进行珊瑚采样。遇难者都是经验丰富的潜水员，但所使用的装备似乎是标准休闲装备，而非适合深洞穴潜水的专业装备。
洞穴潜水是一项技术性极强且极具危险性的活动，需要专门的培训、装备和严格的安全规程。在潜水员无法直接上浮的环境和深度下，风险会急剧增加，尤其是在环境条件恶劣时。专家表示，在洞穴内很容易迷失方向或迷路，尤其是当泥沙扬起大幅降低能见度时。
大多数主流水肺认证机构也建议休闲潜水员不要超过40米（约130英尺）的深度，50米的潜水被视为技术潜水，需要专门的培训和装备。
意大利外交部表示，该洞穴分为三个由狭窄通道连接的大腔室。搜救队周五已探索了三个腔室中的两个，但由于氧气和减压方面的考虑，搜寻范围受限。
意大利官员表示，同乘“约克公爵号”船只的约20名其他意大利远征队员均安全。意大利驻科伦坡大使馆正在为船上人员提供协助，并已联系红新月会，后者已提出部署志愿者协助提供心理援助。
马尔代夫旅游部表示，已暂停“约克公爵号”的运营许可，以待调查。
Finnish divers join the search for remains of 4 Italian divers in the Maldives
May 17, 2026 / 7:47 AM EDT / AP / CBS News
Three Finnish divers arrived in the Maldives Sunday to draw up a fresh plan in the search for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave. The initial search was suspended after a local military diver died during a perilous mission to try to reach them.
The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 160 feet, or 50 meters, in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 98 feet, or 30 meters.
Maldives presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef said the search was suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital on Saturday.
Shareef said Sunday that three Finnish divers, experts in deep and cave diving, have arrived in the archipelago nation and joined the Maldives coastguard in a meeting aimed at mapping a new search strategy.
Mahudhee was buried with military honors in a funeral attended by President Mohamed Muizzu on Saturday night. The diver was part of the group that had briefed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu prays in front of the remains of military diver Mohamed Mahudhee, during his funeral in Male, Maldives, Saturday, May 16, 2026. Mohamed Sharhaan via AP
Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.
Search operations on Saturday involved eight local divers who worked in shifts to locate the bodies, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. Initial teams had already dived to identify and mark the entrance to the cave system where the Italians disappeared. The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to bring the victims home. He offered his condolences for the death of the Maldivian diver during the rescue efforts.
The victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.
Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday from near the mouth of the cave. Authorities believe the remaining four had entered the cave.
Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said in a statement Friday. However, the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately,” it said.
Monica Montefalcone in an undated handout picture released by Greenpeace. Greenpeace via AP
The statement also said the two other victims — student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri — were not involved in the scientific mission.
Carlo Sommacal, Montefalcone’s husband and Giorgia’s father, expressed doubts over the accident, saying that “something must have happened down there” given his wife and daughter’s extensive experience.
Speaking to Italian TV, he described Montefalcone as a careful and highly disciplined diver who would never put her daughter or other colleagues at risk.
The Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip denied authorizing or knowing about the deep dive that violated local limits, its lawyer told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.
Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator “did not know” the group planned to descend beyond the 30 meter limit. That threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities and the tour operator “would have never allowed it,” she said.
Aircraft and speedboats were deployed for a major search after the group of five was reported missing on Thursday afternoon, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said. Maldives National Defence Force
The dive far exceeded what was planned for a scientific cruise focused on coral sampling at standard depths, Stella added. The victims were experienced divers, but the equipment used appeared to be standard recreational gear rather than technical equipment suited for deep cave diving, she said.
Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialized training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in environments where divers cannot head straight up and at depth, particularly when conditions are poor. Experts say it’s easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.
Diving at 50 meters also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 40 meters, or about 130 feet, considered technical diving and requiring specialized training and equipment.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said the cave is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers on Friday, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.
Italian officials said that around 20 other Italians on the same expedition aboard the vessel “Duke of York” were safe. Italy’s embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.
The Maldives Tourism Ministry said it suspended the operating license of the “Duke of York” pending an investigation.
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