Experts Cite Oxygen Toxicity and Panic in Maldives Scuba Deaths

Five Italian tourists died during a scuba diving excursion in the Vaavu Atoll of the Maldives, with experts suggesting oxygen toxicity and panic as potential causes. The group, which included marine biology professor Monica Montefalcone, her daughter, and three other enthusiasts, vanished after diving to a depth of 160 feet, exceeding the recreational limit of 100 feet. Pulmonologist Claudio Micheletto indicated that equipment failure might have led to hyperoxia, causing disorientation and preventing the divers from surfacing. Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, added that panic in such deep, confined spaces could cloud visibility and lead to fatal errors. Maldivian authorities launched an investigation and recovered one body from an underwater cave, suspecting the others remain in the same location. This incident is described as the worst single diving tragedy in the region. The victims had departed from the Duke of York yacht before failing to resurface, prompting a Coast Guard search mission.