Authorities have recovered the bodies of the remaining two divers who went missing during a cave diving incident off Alimatha in Vaavu Atoll, bringing the six-day search operation to an end.

Five Italian divers disappeared while exploring an underwater cave on Thursday. One diver’s body was recovered on the same day and later sent to Italy.

According to senior government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef, the other four bodies were identified during the recovery effort. Two bodies were brought to Malé City yesterday after being retrieved from the third chamber of the cave, around 200 feet underwater. The remaining two were recovered today.

The recovery operation involved Finnish divers, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), and police. The bodies were transported to Malé and placed in the mortuary for further examination.

Officials said efforts are underway with the Italian government to repatriate the bodies. An MNDF officer involved in the search operation also died on Saturday.