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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Maya Yang

‘If something goes wrong, you can’t simply surface’: Maldives tragedy shines light on dangers of cave diving

Silhouette of scuba diver in an underwater cave
Scuba divers in an underwater cave. Investigations into the circumstances of the fatal dive in the Maldives are ongoing but experts are already calling for stricter adherence to established cave-diving safety protocols. Photograph: Tommi Kokkola Photography/Getty Images

The diving tragedy in the Maldives – which claimed the lives of five Italian divers inside an underwater cave, followed by the death of a Maldivian navy diver – has renewed warnings from experts about the risks of cave diving without proper training, planning and specialised equipment.

On Thursday, the Divers Alert Network (DAN), which coordinated the complex search and recovery operation at the Dhekunu Kandu dive site in Vaavu atoll, announced all the divers’ dead bodies had been recovered.

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