Five cave divers slipped beneath the waves in the Maldives. Why didn’t they resurface? | CNN

Deep beneath the crystal turquoise water, white sandy beaches and thatched overwater bungalows of the Maldives lies a deep and narrow system of caves, devoid of light and the colorful marine life that inhabits higher waters. The seas were rough and the wind was picking up late Thursday morning when a team of five experienced Italian divers plunged toward these pitch-black caverns off the Vaavu Atoll, about an hour south by speedboat of the capital Malé. The group included instructor Gianluca Benedetti; Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; and researcher Muriel Oddenino. The divers ventured deep into the cave network, which opens at a depth of about 47 meters (154 feet) and drops to about 70 meters (230 feet) at its lowest point. The bodies of the five scuba divers were only found after a multi-day search effort, a fraught and perilous process which claimed a sixth victim, local military diver Sgt. Mohamed Mahudhee. The group had permission to dive deeper than the 30 meters (98 feet) Maldivian recreational dive limits allow, local authorities said. But it’s not clear