Student emerges as sole survivor of horror Maldives dive tragedy after last-minute decision

A student became the sole survivor of the Maldives diving tragedy after making a vital last-minute decision.

The young woman, studying at Italy's University of Genoa, suddenly decided to remain on the yacht - despite having her equipment prepared and being ready to enter the water with her group.

She eventually stayed aboard the vessel, named the Duke of York, while her five companions embarked on the deadly 160-foot dive into an underwater cave.

The reason for her decision remains unknown.

She is now considered the "only direct survivor of that day" and a "key witness for reconstructing the final moments before the accident", according to Italian newspaper Libero Quotidiano.

The student travelled home to her family on Friday.

The dive's five victims included Monica Montefalcone, a marine biology professor at the University of Genoa, and her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal.

Three other divers also perished in the tragedy.

Muriel Oddenino from Turin, Gianluca Benedetti from Padua, and Federico Gualtieri from Borgomanero all failed to return to the surface.

The group had left on Thursday morning to explore the Vaavu Atoll.

They vanished near Alimatha, one of the region's most popular diving locations.

Authorities were alerted at approximately 1.45pm local time after the divers did not resurface at around midday.

Their bodies were discovered during the subsequent search and rescue operation.

Experts believe oxygen toxicity and panic may have caused the deaths.

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"It's likely that something went wrong with the tanks," Pulmonologist Claudio Micheletto told Italian outlet Adnkronos on Thursday.

"Death from oxygen toxicity, or hyperoxia, is one of the most dramatic deaths that can occur during a dive a horrible end," added Micheletto, the director of pulmonology at the University Hospital of Verona.

Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, suggested panic may also have played a part.

"Inside a cave at a depth of 50 metres, all it takes is a problem for a diver or a panic attack for a diver," he said.

"The agitation will cause the water to become cloudy and can impair visibility," he said, which can lead to "fatal errors".

But he stressed: "It's not easy to say now what exactly may have happened at the bottom of the sea."

Search operations were suspended on Friday due to poor weather conditions.

Winds at the dive site reached between 25 and 30 miles per hour.

Local officials confirmed this was the worst single diving accident in the Maldives' history.

The island nation is made up of 1,192 tiny coral islands spread across 500 miles of the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives National Defence Force deployed aircraft and speedboats after the group was reported missing.

One body was recovered from inside the cave, which extends to approximately 60 metres below the waves.

Authorities believe the remaining four victims are in the same cave.