Italian scuba divers weren’t authorized to dive cave, veteran Maldivian diver alleges: ‘Everyone knows the rules were broken’

A veteran Maldivian diver alleges the five Italians who died trapped in a deep underwater cave didn’t have the required government authorization to undertake such a perilous dive, and would still be alive today if the rules had been followed. A group of five Italian scuba divers died exploring the Alimathaa cave in the Vaavu Atoll Thursday, at a depth of about 160 feet, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. Shafraz Naeem, a instructor-trainer with 30 years of technical diving experience and advisor to the Maldives National Defence Force, has done more than 50 dives in the cave where the group...