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A tragic theory has emerged after five tourists died during a scuba diving expedition in the Maldives. The group, from Italy, set off to explore the underwater caves, at a depth of around 50 metres, in the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday morning but were reported missing after failing to resurface.

It has since been confirmed that Monica Montefalcone, a 51-year-old TV personality and professor of Tropical Marine Ecology and Underwater Science at the University of Genoa, died alongside her 20-year-old daughter Giorgia Sommacal. The other victims have been named as Muriel Oddenino of Turin, Gianluca Benedetti of Padua and Federico Gualtieri of Borgomanero. The deaths have been confirmed by Italy's foreign ministry but no further details on the cause of the incident have been released. However, a pulmonology expert believes the group could have been using faulty tanks.

As reported by The Sun, Claudio Micheletto, a former hospital director and pulmonology expert, said: "It is likely that something went wrong with the tanks. Death from oxygen toxicity, or hyperoxia, is one of the most dramatic that can occur during a dive, a horrible end. When you breathe too high concentrations of oxygen, the gas becomes toxic to the body. During the dive, dizziness, pain, altered state of consciousness, and disorientation occur, conditions that make it impossible to ascend to the surface."

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Meanwhile, the Maldives National Meteorological Office had issued a yellow weather warning earlier in the day. The forecaster said strong winds of up to 30mph and rough seas were a possibility but the group went ahead with the expedition anyway.

They said online: "The [office] predicts that the southwest monsoon (Hulhangu) will increase in strength over the Maldives during this period, particularly in the central and southern atolls.

"With strong winds, rough seas, and widespread rain - all seafarers are advised to pay close attention to weather conditions. Diving and water sports organizers are requested to pay particular attention to weather conditions."

The tourist group set off aboard the luxury Duke of York yacht on a €2,000 (£1,741) scuba trip to explore the area on Thursday. However, a search operation was launched by the Maldivian Coast Guard and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) after they failed to resurface at around 1.45pm.

The MNDF said in a statement: "A body has been found among the five divers who dived in Vaavu Atoll. The body was found inside a cave. The other four divers are believed to be inside the same cave, which extends to a depth of approximately 60m."

The body of Monica Montefalcone was recovered during the initial rescue operation at around 6.15pm. Search teams then deployed boats, an aircraft and dive teams to recover the remaining bodies alongside an experienced Italian diver.

The rescue mission continued on Friday morning with authorities failing to rule out the possibility that four of the divers had gone searching for the fifth that had got in trouble. Meanwhile, local media reports suggest poor weather may have impacted the visibility of the divers.