Five Italian nationals were reported missing on Thursday morning after exploring caves at the atoll of Vaavu. The group traveled to the dive site aboard the luxury yacht, Duke of York. According to reports, the vessel’s crew noted the disappearance of the individuals around 1:45 PM local time when they failed to resurface.
Local authorities immediately launched an extensive search operation involving multiple boats and aircraft. Italian media has identified the missing persons as Monica Montefalcone, a 51-year-old ecology professor from the University of Genoa; her daughter, 23-year-old Giorgio Sommacal; diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and a Genoa University graduate, Federico Gualtieri. Despite the coordinated efforts of rescue teams utilizing various assets, no trace of the five individuals has been located as of the latest reports.
The search operation remains active as authorities continue efforts to locate the group that ventured into the atoll’s cave system.
