Disgrace cave

Maldives, the bodies of the four divers arrived at the Gallarate morgue

Four bodies of Italian divers returned to Malpensa; prosecutors and police investigate the causes of the tragedy in the Vaavu atoll.

by Enrico Bronzo

aggiornato il 23 maggio 2026, ore 17:15

Arrivo all’aeroporto di Malpensa delle quattro salme dei sub deceduti alle Maldive Milano - Italia - Cronaca Sabato, 23 Maggio, 2026 (Foto di Marco Ottico/Lapresse LAPRESSE

2' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

The scheduled Turkish Airlines flight that brought back to Italia the bodies of four Italian divers who died while diving in the Maldives landed at 13.10 at Milan Malpensa airport. They are marine biologist Monica Montefalcone, a lecturer at the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, researcher Muriel Oddenino and marine biologist Federico Gualtieri. The body of the Paduan Gianluca Benedetti had already been repatriated in recent days.

Maldive: recupero sub durato 3 ore, le immagini di Dan Europe

After that, an autopsy will be ordered on the bodies of the four divers who died in the Maldives. It is not excluded that autopsies will be carried out in Busto Arsizio (Varese).

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Milan, 23 May (LaPresse) - The bodies of the four Italian divers who died in the Maldives have arrived at the morgue of the hospital in Gallarate, in the province of Varese. The coffins, which landed shortly before at Milan's Malpensa airport on Turkish Airways flight TK1895, will remain composted and under sequestration until Monday, the day of the autopsies.

The first vehicle to reach the lìobitorio was a van with the wooden box containing the body of Monica Montefalcone, followed by a second with the coffins of Giorgia Sommacal and Federico Gualtieri. Last came the funeral car with the body of Muriel Oddenino.

Autopsy examinations could yield clarifications on what happened in the waters of the Vaavu atoll.

The first body on which they will be performed is that of Gianluca Benedetti, the 44-year-old boatmaster from Padua whose body was recovered first. An autopsy in his case is scheduled for Monday.

Maldive: investigators sift through e-mails between Montefalcone and UniGe

Investigations continue by the Mobile Squad of Genoa, under delegation from the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office, to shed light on the death of Professor Monica Montefalcone and the other four divers during a dive in the Maldives.

Investigators are sifting through emails that the lecturer had exchanged with the Distav, the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences.

In those missives from the university, the investigators speculate, could be details of what Montefalcone would have done on a daily basis and any authorisations for various scientific activities.

In addition to the e-mails, the 'mission statement' containing the search addresses would also be acquired.

If the all-clear were to emerge, it is still an investigative hypothesis, the death of the doctor and researcher Muriel Oddenino could be framed as a work-related accident.

The University of Genoa has always emphasised from day one that 'diving was in no way part of the scientific mission, but was carried out in a personal capacity'.

Clarifying what the university authorised could be the words of Professor Elisabetta Rampone, head of the department, who was heard by the mobile police officers.

In addition to her, the investigators are currently listening to the 20 other people who were on board the Duke of York, the ship of the Maldives expedition, while in the coming days the agents may acquire all the paper and computer material stored at the Distav.

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