India, May 24 -- The remains of four Italian divers who died deep inside an underwater cave earlier this month while diving in the Maldives were repatriated early on Saturday, a Maldivian Government spokesperson said.

Five Italian divers went missing on May 14 while exploring the cave about 50 metres (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll. The body of their Italian diving instructor was recovered outside the cave at the time and returned home. A high-risk operation to recover the bodies faced hurdles and was initially suspended after Mohamed Mahudhee, Madlivian, a military diver who was part of the recovery team, was killed. Three Finnish expert deep and cave divers joined the mission and located the four bodies last week in the innermost chamber of ...