Five Italians have died following a scuba diving accident in the Maldives.

The group was exploring a series of underwater caves at a depth of about 50 metres in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, Italy’s foreign ministry said.

Four of the divers were affiliated with the University of Genoa, including a professor and her daughter.

Monica Montefalcone worked as an associate professor of ecology and her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, was a student of biomedical engineering at the university.

Muriel Oddenino was a research assistant and Federico Gualtieri was a recent marine ecology master’s graduate from the university.

A woman with blonde hair smiling and wearing a hat.

Muriel Oddenino was one of the five divers who died in the scuba accident in the Maldives. (Supplied: Facebook)

The fifth diver was dive operator Gianluca Benedetti.

In a statement, the University of Genoa paid tribute to the divers who worked at and attended the university.

“The University of Genoa expresses its deep sorrow for the sudden and tragic death of Monica Montefalcone, associate professor of ecology at the Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences — DISTAV, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, a UniGe student in biomedical engineering, Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow at DISTAV, and Federico Gualtieri, a recent UniGe graduate in marine biology and ecology,” it said.

“The sympathy of the entire university community goes out to the families, colleagues and students who shared their human and professional journey.”

Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday from near the mouth of the cave. Authorities believe the remaining four had entered the cave.

The foreign ministry said an investigation was underway, adding that the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka was working to contact the victims’ families and provide consular assistance.