The bodies of four Italian scuba divers who were'missing' after an accident in underwater caverns have been found by a specialized team, Maldives officials said and DAN Europe divers network announced on Monday.

DAN Europe stated that the Finnish team also collected the necessary information to plan the recovery of the bodies during the three-hour dive.

The statement continued, "This marks an significant milestone in an operation which remains technically demanding, emotionally challenging and operationally complicated."

The Finnish team arrived in Vaavu on Sunday after the incident on Thursday, when 'the Italian divers' were exploring caves with a depth of 165 feet (50 metres).

Mohamed Hussain Shareef is the chief spokesperson of the President’s Office of the Maldives. He said that authorities are investigating procedures before the dive.

Last week, the Maldives?Defence Force (MNDF), said that the body of a fifth Italian dive was found on Friday, at a depth around?60 meters, inside a cave. It added that it believed the other divers would be also in the 200-foot long 'cave.

The authorities have temporarily suspended the recovery efforts after a 'MNDF diver who was taking part in search and rescue died from decompression illness on Saturday.

(source: Reuters)