( CNN ) -- Four scuba divers drowned after a routine trip to a popular underwater cave system in southern Italy went horribly wrong over the weekend , according to the coast guard . The party of divers lost their way while trying to find the exit from the `` Blood Grotto , '' a red-walled cave near the tourist port of Palinuro on Italy 's southwest coast on Saturday . The divers became disoriented after kicking up mud and sand from the floor while trying to find a way out -- and instead entered a nearby tunnel which led four of the divers to a dead end , where the coast guard says their bodies were found . Massimo Ruggiero , the coast guard commander , confirmed to CNN that the victims were Greek-born Panaiotis Telios , British-born Douglas Rizzo , and Susy Covaccini and Andrea Pedroni , both from Rome . An Italian public prosecutor has ordered an investigation into the accident , and the equipment used by the divers was checked for faults . Marco Sebastiani , one of the dive 's five survivors , said by the time he realized the party was heading the wrong way , it was too late . `` All of a sudden the guide started to panic ... I knew something was wrong but at that point we had already entered the cave and we were going in even further . I tried to take control but it was too late , '' Sebastiani told Italy 's Il Messaggero newspaper . Sebastiani , who owns a diving school in Rome , said : `` We suddenly found ourselves in a blind tunnel . We could n't see anything . At that point it was panic . The agitation of the least experienced took hold . Mud and sand came up from the bottom of the cave and visibility was gone . '' `` We could n't find the exit . At a certain point I managed to find my way . I took as many people as I could with me and we swam towards the light , which grew bigger all the time . When I came up , I looked around to count us and I realised that Susy , Andrea , Douglas and Panos were n't there . I dove back in and went looking for them but I could n't see them . Then my tank ran out of oxygen . '' The Blood Grotto and other submerged caves on Palinuro 's coast are popular destinations for amateur divers -- and the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park the caves belong to is a UNESCO World Heritage site .
Two divers drown after being trapped in underwater cave in southern Italy . They reportedly got lost on way out of ` ` Blood Cave '' and ended up in dead end . Survivor : ` ` All of a sudden the divers started to panic ... I tried to take control but it was too late ''