Anbarasan Ethirajan and Olivia Ireland
(BBC) – A rescue diver has died while searching for the bodies of four Italians who died in a scuba-diving accident in the Maldives.
Staff Sgt Mohamed Mahdhee was taken to hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries, a government spokesman told the BBC on Saturday.
The five Italians died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of around 50m (164ft). So far, just one of their bodies is thought to have been recovered, in a cave at a depth of around 60m (197ft).
The incident is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.
