Five Italian tourists have died while exploring underwater caves 160 ft below the surface in the Maldives.
The group had set off on a diving expedition on Thursday morning to explore the Vaavu atoll, Italian media reports.
Local police received reports of the divers’ disappearance at around 1.45pm local time and during the search and rescue operation, discovered their bodies.
According to initial reports, the five tourists aboard the Duke of York, a foreign-operated live-aboard diving vessel, disappeared near Alimathaa island.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.
