Spanish tourist drowns in Maldives holiday tragedy

A Spanish tourist has drowned while surfing in the Maldives in the third horror incident involving European holidaymakers in just over a month.

The 53-year-old reportedly died today, Monday, after leaving a sea safari boat tour he was on to go surfing off Vaadhoo Island in the Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll in the Southern Maldives.

He was transferred to a local health facility around 1pm local time but pronounced dead on arrival, police said.

An investigation into the tragedy was today ongoing.

The incident occurred the same day it was confirmed the bodies of the remaining four Italians who died in sea caves in the Maldives had been located ahead of their expected recovery in the next couple of days.

Tragedy struck last Thursday after the five victims, who included mother and daughter Monica Montefalcone and Giorgia Sommacal, died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of around 50 metres in the worst single diving accident in the history of the tiny Indian Ocean nation.

Italian and Finnish experts had to be brought in to complete the recovery operation after the death on Saturday of a local military diver shortly after the body of instructor Gianluca Benedettti was located and brought to the surface.

On 11 April Spaniard Borja Garcia Sousa had to have his leg amputated after being attacked by a shark during his honeymoon in the Maldives in front of his new wife Ana.

The 31-year-old Alicante-based gynaecologist, a semi-professional futsal player, spoke for the first time about his near-death experience from his hospital bed late last month.

In an emotional social media post he said he was longing to return home and “hug and kiss” his loved ones.

And in a tribute to the woman he married just before they left for the Indian Ocean paradise, Borja said on Instagram where he lists his life’s motto as ‘Don’t let fear stop you’: “If there’s one thing I’m sure of after all this, it’s that there was no better person to go through that storm with.”

The couple are understood to have been part of a group that entered the water near a fishing processing plant off an island called Kooddoo which is home to a four-star boutique hotel resort.

He had to have his leg amputated after being admitted to an intensive care unit at ADK Hospital in Male, the densely-populated capital of the Maldives.

Police in the Maldives confirmed they had launched an investigation after Borja’s wife lodged a formal complaint accusing the organisers of the marine excursion of negligence.

The injured holidaymaker chose 28 April, a month after he married his long-term partner, to speak his first words since the horror incident and post the first photo of him since the attack made headlines around the world.

In an emotional message alongside snaps of their wedding and the one of him recovering in hospital alongside Ana, Borja said: “Who would have told us that life would put us to the test so soon, barely a month after we said those words before God and before the most important people in our lives.

“On 28 April we celebrated our first month of marriage.

“And what can I say to you… we started strong, didn’t we?

“On 11 April, we faced probably the cruelest and most savage episode of our lives. But not for a single moment did we stop trusting that it would just be a stone in the road; that, no matter what happened, we would find a way to move forward. And we did.

“Because there are moments that change you forever. Moments in which you understand how fragile life is, but also the strength one can draw when everything seems to be falling apart.

“If there’s one thing I’m sure of after all this, it’s that there was no better person to go through that storm with.

“All the hands that came together, all the messages and every prayer that was said for me, I’m sure they reached heaven via the fast route and, in some way, brought me back."

Vaadhoo Island in the Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll where today's Spanish drowning tragedy reportedly occurred is regarded as a prime, uncrowded surfing destination.

Its premier local break, Blue Bowls, is an excellent right-handed reef break located on the island itself.

It lies nearly 300 miles south of the Maldives' capital Male.