A grieving Italian scientist who lost both his wife and a daughter in the Maldives diving tragedy insisted Friday that something wildly unexpected must have happened because his wife was too experienced a diver to have taken risks.

Carlo Sommacal raised his concerns after his wife, Monica Montefalcone, 52, and their 20-year-old daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, were among the five who failed to resurface during the scuba diving trip in a cave on Thursday morning.

“The only certainty I have is that my wife is among the best divers on the face of the earth. And that she’s always been conscientious. Never would she have endangered the life of our daughter” or the others with them, Sommacal told La Repubblica on Friday.

“Something must have happened down there,” the retired scientist stated firmly.

“Maybe one went into trouble, maybe the oxygen cylinders, I have no idea. But I’m ready to swear anything about Monica’s behavior,” insisted the new widower