In un’immagine pubblicata sul profilo Faceboox di Dan Europe, le prime foto della grotta all'interno di una grotta nell'atollo di Vaavu nelle Maldive dove sono stati recuperati. in due fasi, i corpi dei cinque subacquei italiani, 22 maggio 2026 ANSA

No decisive elements have emerged, at least for now, from the first autopsies performed on the bodies of the five victims of the tragedy that occurred in the Maldives during a diving trip.

The medico-legal examinations, which began today at the hospital in Gallarate (Varese), have so far ruled out the presence of any obvious anomalies, but have postponed any conclusions to the histological and toxicological investigations ordered by specialists.

Coordinating the operations is forensic scientist Luca Tajana, appointed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the University of Pavia.

yesterday, autopsies were carried out on the bodies of Gianluca Benedetti and Federico Gualtieri, the 30-year-old from Omegna who died with his other compatriots while diving into the cave.

Examinations on the other three victims, Monica Montefalcone, Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino, are scheduled for today.

Forensic experts have taken numerous histological samples to establish the possible causes of death, but for the time beingthe most credible hypothesis remains that of asphyxiation and subsequent drowning. The technical consultants must await the results of the toxicological examinations before they can give their opinion. Results that will arrive within a few days.

Professor Tajana will file his final report within 90 days. The consultants appointed by the victims’ families also participated in the operations.

yesterday, the assignment to perform autopsies on the corpses recovered in the caves of Hekunu Kandu by the Finnish rescue team of Dan Europe was formalised in Busto Arsizio by the prosecutor Nadia Alessandra Calcaterra, by proxy of the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office.

A panel of experts composed of the forensic doctor Luca Tajana, from the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the University of Pavia, the toxicologist Cristiana Stramesi and the anaesthetist, resuscitator and sports medicine and diving specialist Luciano Ditri was appointed.

The Gualtieri family’s lawyer, Antonello Riccio, will in turn appoint Dr. Carola Vanoli.

The investigation into what happened in the Maldives

On the investigative front, the Mobile Squad of Genoa, again by delegation of the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office in charge of the investigation, will continue to acquire documents and testimonies.

Among other things, it will be necessary to ascertain what the mission entrusted by the University of Genoa to Professor Montefalcone consisted of, also in view of the fact that the Genoese university, from day one, has always emphasised that ‘the diving activity was in no way part of the activities envisaged by the scientific mission, but was carried out in a personal capacity‘.

The autopsies will definitively clarify the causes of death of the five divers, and the analysis of the go-pro, the action-cams that were recovered by the Finnish rescue team will perhaps help to understand why Montefalcone and his daughter Giorgia, together with Odenini and Gualtieri, ended up in that cul de sac at a depth of -60 metres that swallowed them.

The controversy over profiles removed from the University of Genoa

“The family is appalled by the removal of Professor Montefalcone’s university page from the University of Genoa”. These are the words of Giuseppe Puglies who, with Alessandro Albert, is representing the family of Monica Montefalcone and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal in legal proceedings. The lawyers arrived in Busto Arsizio for the assignment for the autopsy. “These missions recur annually if not every six months and the university is absolutely aware of what is being done,” added Albert.

 “In relation to news spread by the media, it is deemed appropriate to state that it is erroneous to assert that the University of Genoa (Unige, ndr)has provided for the deletion of information relating to the curriculum or profile of Professor Montefalcone and Dr. Oddenino“. This was stated in a note to the University of Genoa regarding news of the deletion of the profile linked to the professor who disappeared in the accident that occurred in the Maldives during a scientific dive.

“The non-display of the professor’s profile,” the university states, “and that of the research fellow on the institutional portal (in particular on the University section) is a consequence of a procedure of the computer system that, following the entry of the information relating to the death, results in the non-publication of the personal profile.

This is a routinely applied administrative procedure.

No activity has therefore been carried out with the aim of modifying, reducing or deleting contents relating to the professional, academic or scientific career of the two profiles’. “It is also specified that, in the context of computer archives, research databases, and other information systems dedicated to scientific production, the information and scientific contributions of the lecturer remain consultable and available according to the criteria and modalities envisaged by the regulations in force,” the university concludes.

“They have already deleted her presence from the university website with a haste that I do not understand,” Monica Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, commented a few days ago

Legals of the victims vs. Unige

“Of course Federico was there for this scientific cruise together with the others. The University of Genoa is called out but we will see. We will make all the necessary verifications”. Thus Antonello Riccio, the lawyer for the family of Federico Gualtieri, today in Busto Arsizio (Varese) with his colleague Gianluigi Dell’Acqua for the commissioning of the autopsy.