Italy has posthumously awarded its Gold Medal for Civil Valour to Maldives National Defence Force Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahudhee.
The medal was presented to his family at a ceremony on Wednesday evening at Barceló Nasandhura in Malé. Italian Ambassador Damiano Francovigh and Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed jointly presented the award. The event also marked 60 years of Maldives-Italy diplomatic relations and Italy’s National Day.
Mahudhee died in May after developing decompression sickness while taking part in the search for four Italian tourists and their dive instructor who went missing in an underwater cave system off Vaavu Alimathaa at depths exceeding 58 metres. Initial recovery efforts were suspended after his death; specialised Finnish cave divers later retrieved the remains.
The Italian Embassy in Colombo and the honorary consular agency in Malé have opened a Mahudhee Memorial Fund at Maldives Islamic Bank to support his family, with contributions accepted until the end of the year.
Questions have continued in the Maldives about the operational conditions and medical response surrounding Mahudhee’s death.
