Suspended operating licence
The body of one diver, yet to be publicly named, was found in a cave at a depth of 60 metres.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has suspended the operating licence of the liveaboard vessel MV Duke of York indefinitely, pending the outcome of an investigation into the diving incident that occurred in Vaavu Atoll on May 14,” the ministry said.
The Duke of York is a 36-metre luxury boat that can accommodate 25 guests.
Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday that all five of its nationals had died.
The low-lying Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 800 kilometres across the equator in the Indian Ocean, is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers, who often stay at secluded resorts or on liveaboard dive boats.
Diving and water-sport-related accidents are relatively rare in the South Asian nation, although several fatal incidents have been reported in recent years.
