A retired British couple have died following a scuba-diving incident while on holiday at their favourite Maldives dive resort – a location they were said to have visited some 60 times.
Malcolm & Elaine Richmond, from Inkersall near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, had been staying at the Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon resort in North Ari Atoll during the Christmas period. The resort includes one of the five Dive & Sail dive-centres in the Maldives.
The couple were experienced recreational divers and frequent guests at the resort, having spent the past 17 Christmases among what were said to have been around 60 holidays there.
Elaine Richmond, who was 70, died on 19 December and her 71-year-old husband followed three days later in hospital. It is understood that it was during a trip out on a dive-boat that the incident occurred but no official statement has been released by the Maldivian authorities concerning causes of death.
An inquest is scheduled to open at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court on 30 January, with the couple’s joint funeral due to take place the day before. 2026 would have marked their 50th wedding anniversary.
