Maldives tragedy: diving missions were academic activities, investigation into victims' files
Lawyers for the families point the finger at the University of Genoa. Autopsies underway at Gallarate; GoPro footage will be decisive.
Family lawyers: "The university knew about the missions"
The diving expeditions to the Maldives in which five Italian divers lost their lives were linked to academic activities, not a tourist trip. This is the contention of lawyers representing the victims' families, cited by ANSA Cronaca, who have directed accusations directly at the University of Genoa.
"These missions recur annually, if not bi-annually, and the university is absolutely aware of what is being done," said Alessandro Albert, lawyer for the family of Monica Montefalcone, one of the five victims. His colleague Giuseppe Pugliese added that the professor was in Vaavu Atoll to carry out research as part of university activities: "She was not there as an ordinary tourist spending a pleasant holiday diving for recreational purposes". Antonello Riccio, lawyer for the family of Federico Gualtieri — a newly-qualified marine biologist among the victims — shared this interpretation.
Removal of academic profiles, a "mystery" in the tragedy
Further questions have been raised by the removal, occurring shortly after the tragedy, of Montefalcone's profile page from the university website. In the hours that followed, that of researcher Muriel Oddenino, a research fellow at the same university, also disappeared. The University of Genoa, in an official statement, described the decision as "purely administrative in nature".
Carlo Sommacal, who lost his wife Montefalcone and daughter Giorgia in the tragedy, said he was "appalled" by what he considers an incomprehensible action.
Investigation into emails and mission document
The inquiries conducted by Genoa's mobile squad, acting on a delegation from Rome's Public Prosecutor's Office, are now focusing on communications between Montefalcone and the Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Life. Investigators hypothesise that emails with the university may contain details of the professor's daily activities and any authorisations for scientific research. A "mission document" containing research directions is believed to have also been obtained.
If formal authorisations emerge from the checks, the deaths of Montefalcone and Oddenino could be classified as occupational accidents. To obtain the GoPro footage worn by the victims, which is crucial for reconstructing what happened, Italy will instead have to resort to an international request for mutual legal assistance.
Autopsies at Gallarate, funerals expected by weekend
The bodies of the five divers are at the mortuary of Gallarate hospital. Following the first two autopsies already performed on the bodies of boat master Gianluca Benedetti and Gualtieri, the bodies of Monica Montefalcone, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal and Muriel Oddenino will be examined in the coming hours.
"Many samples have been taken for histological and toxicological tests, the results of which are expected within a few days, but we must then wait for the experts' report to be filed, for which the experts have requested and been granted ninety days," explained one of the lawyers. The funerals could take place by the weekend, after approval from the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Students gather at Christ of the Abyss for a final farewell
Meanwhile, Montefalcone's students are organising a visit to the Christ of the Abyss, the statue located 17 metres deep in the Bay of Silence in Camogli, for a collective prayer in memory of the professor. The same students have asked the university to create a dedicated webpage for the lecturer: "We would like it to be on the university website, but if that is not possible we will create it ourselves".
Source: ANSA Cronaca