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Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service.

Coming to you live from London, I'm James Kimmer-a-Sami.

And we begin today with an underwater tragedy in the tiny Indian Ocean nation of the Maldives,

one that, in the words of the Italian foreign minister, unites nation of the Maldives, one that, in the words of the Italian

Foreign Minister, unites Italy and the Maldives in grief and respect for the victims. That's because

it was confirmed today that a rescue worker from the Maldives has died while searching for the bodies

of four Italian scuba divers who are exploring caves at least 50 metres below the surface.

The body of a fifth Italian victim has been found.

It's thought to be the single worst diving accident in a country that's become a popular tourist

destination because of its string of coral islands.

The University of Genoa has named four of the victims as Professor of Ecology Monica Monte Falkone,

her daughter, student, Georgia Somacal, research fellow Muriel Odenino and Marine Biology graduate

Federico Gualtieri. Ocallo Samacal is the husband of Professor Monte Falkone and the daughter

of Georgia. He spoke to the Italian newspaper La

Republica about his double loss and we've voiced up some of what he had to say.

I don't know what happened down there, but it's really strange that five of them died.

My wife has done 5,000 dives. She's an expert. She knows what to do when things get difficult. When I received the call

from the embassy yesterday, my legs gave out. And from then on, I haven't stopped for a moment.

I had to tell my son, as well as George's boyfriend, and also my in-laws, who don't live far from

here. I'd love to meet God one day and ask him why he's been so cruel to us.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan has been covering the story and he told me what we know.

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