The bodies of four Italian divers have now been located deep inside an underwater cave days after they were reported missing in the Maldives.

Rescue divers had resumed their search on Monday in Vaavu Atoll after their mission had been suspended following the death of a local military diver during their perilous mission to try to reach the group.

The government of the Indian Ocean island country has now confirmed the four bodies were spotted in the innermost part of the cave by three Finnish diving experts, supported by the Maldives police and the military.

“As was previously thought, the four bodies were found inside the cave, not only inside the cave but well inside the cave into the third segment of the cave, which is the largest part,” Maldives government spokesman Ahmed Shaam said.

He said the four were found “pretty much together”.

A fifth diver’s body was earlier found at the mouth of the cave — the group had been exploring at a depth of about 50m on Thursday, according to Italy’s foreign ministry.

Who are the divers?

Diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti’s body was the first to be found, at the mouth of the cave, leading authorities to believe the other four Italians remain inside, Shareef said.

Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa, and her daughter Giorgia Sommacal were two of the divers who have been found deeper inside the cave.

The were found beside marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, and researcher Muriel Oddenino.

A sixth diver decided not to enter the water when the rest of the group dove in, authorities confirmed.

The recovery plan

The recovery of the bodies is set to take place in stages.

“The plan is they will try and recover two bodies tomorrow and possibly the other two the following day,” Shaam said in a voice clip sent to the media.

The Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which deployed the three Finnish divers, said on its website that they are technical and cave divers with international experience in search and recovery missions, including operations in “deep overhead environments, confined spaces and high-risk scenarios”.

The team used advanced technical systems, including closed-circuit rebreathers, a system that recycles exhaled breathing gas and removes carbon dioxide through a chemical scrubber, allowing for “significantly longer dives,” the organisation explained.

The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30m — so, given the depth the divers were found, the legality of the dive is now under review.

“For recreational and commercial diving, by law, nobody is allowed to go further than 30m and unfortunately, this appears to have happened a lot deeper because even the cave’s mouth is almost 50m under,” Shareef said.

The vessel’s license has been suspended pending the results of the probe, according to Shareef, who said: “Everything will be looked into.”

Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator “did not know” the group planned to descend beyond 30m. Crossing that threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities and the tour operator “would have never allowed it,” she said.

— With CNN