The investigation into the Maldives cave-diving disaster that killed five Italian divers and one Maldivian rescuer is expanding, with Italian prosecutors formally requesting equipment, cameras and documentation from Maldivian authorities as part of an ongoing culpable manslaughter inquiry.

Emergency teams, which have been racing to reach seven people trapped inside a cave in Laos after heavy rainfall caused rising water levels to block their exit routes, have now found five people alive.

According to international news reports, the group became stranded inside the cave system last week when sudden flooding cut off access passages and complicated rescue efforts. Thai cave rescue specialists have since joined local authorities in the operation.

DAN Europe and Maldivian authorities have released a detailed preliminary reconstruction of the recovery operation following the cave diving tragedy at Dhekunu Kandu, also known as Thinwana Kandu, in the Maldives.

Over four operational days between 18 and 21 May, an international recovery mission involving DAN Europe, the Maldives National Defence Force, Maldivian police diving units and a Finnish specialist cave-diving team successfully located and recovered all four missing divers from inside the cave system.

DAN Europe confirmed on 18 May that a specialist international search and recovery team successfully completed the first operational cave dive at the Dhekunu Kandu site in Vaavu Atoll, where five Italian divers died earlier this month.

According to DAN, the three-member recovery team located all four remaining missing victims during a technical cave penetration dive lasting approximately three hours.

Authorities in the Maldives confirmed that five Italian divers lost their lives during a cave dive, while a rescue diver later died during efforts to recover the bodies.

According to official statements and international news reports, the group became trapped inside an underwater cave system during a dive near Vaavu Atoll. Poor weather and difficult underwater conditions complicated the subsequent search-and-recovery operation.

Geoff Yeadon, widely regarded as one of the leading figures in British cave diving from the 1970s onward, has died following a sudden heart attack. News of his passing on 29 March 2026 was shared by the UK caving community, where it came as a shock to many.

According to reports posted on UK Caving, Yeadon collapsed during an event attended with members of his family. Despite the presence of medical staff, he could not be revived. “He was, of course, a legend in caving and cave diving and will be sorely missed,” the statement read.