MALE, Maldives: Italy's Foreign Ministry said this week that rescuers have found the bodies of the four Italian divers who went missing deep inside an underwater cave in a Maldives atoll last week.

The search restarted on May 18 after it was paused when a local military diver died during a risky mission to reach them.

The Maldives government said the bodies were spotted in the deepest part of the cave by three Finnish diving experts, with support from police and the military. A government spokesman, Ahmed Shaam, said the bodies were found far inside the cave, in its third and largest section, and were located close together.

He added that the plan is to recover two bodies first, followed by the other two the next day.

Divers' Alert Network Europe sent the Finnish divers to continue the search. The group said they are highly experienced in deep and cave diving, including dangerous rescue missions. They used advanced equipment like closed-circuit rebreathers, which recycle air and allow divers to stay underwater much longer.

Earlier, the body of a fifth Italian diver, an instructor, was found outside the cave. The group had been exploring the cave at a depth of about 50 meters, which is deeper than the Maldives' usual recreational diving limit of 30 meters.

The Finnish experts arrived on May 17 to help with the search. Earlier, a Maldivian military diver died from decompression sickness after being taken to a hospital.

Bad weather made the rescue work more difficult. Initial search teams had already found and marked the cave entrance where the divers disappeared. The cause of the deaths is still being investigated.