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Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber is already on track to challenge Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire
Because the Philadelphia Phillies have had a disappointing start, collectively, to the 2026 season, it's easy to miss what Kyle Schwarber is doing.
Schwarber, even in his early 30's, has taken his offensive game to a whole new level. In 2025, Schwarber exploded with 56 home runs, a new career high. Through the first 46 games of the 2026 season, he might be on his way to an even more impressive and historic number.
Remarkably, Schwarber's already hit 20 home runs through his first 46 games. Through 162 games, that would put him on pace for 70 home runs in 2026.
Where does that stack up historically? Only two players in MLB history have ever hit 70 home runs or more in a season, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire. What else does those two players have in common? Both were linked to performance enhancing drugs. And in fact, the players who populate the leader board of all-time single season homer runs is primarily concentrated in that era.
AARON JUDGE IS ONCE AGAIN ON PACE TO MAKE HISTORY, THREATEN HIS OWN AL SINGLE-SEASON HOME RUN RECORD
Until you get to Aaron Judge's incredible 62 home run season in 2022, it's Bonds, McGwire and Sosa. Could Schwarber challenge the 70 home run mark and in doing so, become the first to ever reach that number without some type of PED connection? Even looking into some historic comparisons, Schwarber's 2026 has been impressive.
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When Judge hit 62 in 2022, he reached 20 home runs on June 3rd. Bonds reached 20 on May 19th in the year he hit 73. Schwarber reached 20 on May 15th. His latest coming during a crazy Phillies comeback win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
He's had more home runs since May 7 than 22 teams. He has more total bases in the first inning this year than the entire San Diego Padres offense. It's incredible.
Looking at the data behind his season, there's some reason for optimism and reason for skepticism. Schwarber's average launch angle thus far is 23.6, by far, the highest of his career. Hit the ball in the air more, have more opportunity for home runs. But it's not just that he's hitting it higher; he's hitting it higher with authority. Schwarber's career barrel rate is 16.6%. This year? It's 26.2%. Making that level of elite contact, in the air, is a recipe for success.
That said, his expected statistics aren't quite as rosy. His actual slugging percentage, .642, is 50 points higher than his "expected" slugging, which is .592. Still elite, but it points to some level of good fortune with his results. Same with his home run/fly ball rate, at 33.9%. Last year, 28.6% of fly balls he hit turned into homers, and that 5+ percentage point increase may not be likely to continue.
Still, this is a remarkable start to a season. And if Schwarber continues on this trend, it'll be a historic finish too.
Frequent museum visits tied to reduced cellular aging, research finds
People who regularly visit museums or participate in creative activities may be aging more slowly on a biological level, according to a new study from the United Kingdom.
Researchers from University College London analyzed data from more than 3,500 adults and found that people who frequently engaged in arts and cultural activities showed signs of slower biological aging in several DNA-based measurements.
The findings were published in the journal Innovation in Aging.
CREATIVE HOBBIES KEEP THE BRAIN YOUNG, STUDY FINDS — HERE ARE THE BEST ONES TO PURSUE
The study examined activities including painting, photography, dancing, singing, visiting museums and attending cultural events or historic sites.
Researchers compared participation in those activities with "epigenetic clocks," scientific tools that examine chemical changes in DNA over time.
Adults who participated more often, and in a wider variety of activities, tended to show slower aging scores compared to people who rarely engaged in arts or cultural experiences.
ANTI-AGING BENEFITS LINKED TO ONE SURPRISING HEALTH HABIT
The association appeared even stronger among adults over age 40.
Researchers also noted that the effect sizes were comparable to those linked to physical activity, one of the most widely studied behaviors associated with healthy aging.
Jessica Mack, a health and wellness expert and founder of The Functional Consulting Group who was not involved in the study, said the findings reflect a growing understanding that health is influenced by more than exercise and nutrition alone.
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"Arts and cultural engagement may be associated with slower epigenetic aging, with effects comparable in some measures to physical activity," Mack told Fox News Digital.
She said activities such as visiting museums and engaging with music or art may help reduce stress, improve emotional regulation and increase social connection.
"These are not ‘extra’ lifestyle activities," Mack said. "They may be deeply connected to how the body manages inflammation, stress hormones, mood and overall resilience."
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Mack added that people experiencing stress, social isolation, retirement or caregiving responsibilities may especially benefit from meaningful cultural engagement.
Experts cautioned, however, that the study does not prove arts engagement directly slows aging.
"This is an observational study, not an experiment," Professor Steve Horvath of UCLA, a longevity researcher and pioneer in epigenetic aging research who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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"So when researchers find that the people who go to museums have younger epigenetic age, we cannot tell whether the museum visits slowed their aging, or whether their slower aging is what allowed them to keep visiting museums," he said.
Horvath said both explanations may be true to some degree, though he described the research as "methodologically careful" and worthy of further study.
The findings remained consistent even after accounting for factors such as smoking, income, body weight and other lifestyle habits.
He added that regardless of whether arts engagement is directly slowing biological aging, staying socially and mentally active is still associated with healthier aging overall.
"The prescription is the same," he said. "Keep going."
Fleeing Wisconsin driver gets airborne and jumps car over another car during high-speed chase
Footage from a high-speed chase in Wisconsin earlier this month shows the fleeing driver going airborne and jumping his car over another. We're talking full 'Dukes of Hazzard' style.
It's one of the most insane dashcam videos you'll ever see. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office released the now-viral footage of the arrest, which took place on Saturday morning, May 9.
FOX 6 reports that the Wisconsin State Patrol stopped a car, then called for backup because of an active felony warrant. As a Fond du Lac County sheriff's deputy and another trooper arrived, the driver took off.
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A high-speed pursuit began and eventually came to an end when the driver lost control, went into a ditch, then up the embankment. This is where the car flies over another car.
The fleeing driver's car not only flew over the other car, it went all the way over the road and ended up in a field on the other side.
Remarkably, Dewayne Stokes, 44, identified by police as the driver, wasn’t ready to give up. He got out of the vehicle and had to be Tased before being taken into custody.
The pursuit had come to an end after four and a half miles, a tiny bit of which was covered through the air. Stokes was then taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
He was charged with seven counts, including first-degree reckless endangering safety and two counts of eluding an officer. His cash bond was set at $25,000, and he's due back in court on June 24, according to court documents.
Stokes was out on bond at the time of his car flight for operating a vehicle without the owner's consent, FOX 6 added. He had a warrant issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in court. He didn’t know it at the time, how could he have, but that decision was going to put him on a path to fly a car over another car.
Everything happens for a reason.
Selfie video captures scary moment baseball fan at Mariners game gets hit in the skull by foul ball
Rule No. 1 of attending a Major League Baseball game as a fan is that you have to keep your head on a swivel at all times. One poor fan, and her head, paid the price over the weekend for forgetting that non-negotiable.
The fan, Jamie Golla, was sitting in the lower bowl down the third-base side at T-Mobile Park in Seattle for the Mariners' contest against the San Diego Padres on Friday night. Her friend just so happened to have her phone out to capture a selfie video of the two of them having fun at the ballpark, with San Diego's Sung-mun Song at the dish to lead off the fifth inning.
Quickly, and out of nowhere, the moment went from fun to incredibly painful for Golla.
The selfie video shows the exact moment a screaming foul ball caught Golla on the top of the head, and the sound the baseball made as it made contact with her skull is nightmare fuel.
The foul ball off of Song's bat wasn't a routine fly ball, either, hence the fact that fans sitting around Golla and her friend weren't trying to catch it for a souvenir.
It was one of those foul balls where, whether you're at the ballpark or watching at home, you hold your breath for a moment, hoping that the screamer doesn't catch a fan. Unfortunately, it did.
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According to the New York Post, Golla was taken to nearby Harborview Medical Center for treatment shortly after the accident.
"I’m feeling a little better than yesterday. My head is still a bit swollen, and I’ve been getting minor headaches here and there, but overall I’m doing okay. I didn’t think this video was going to blow up. I appreciate the people who have been checking up on me," she told The Post.
Jamie also shared that a member of the Mariners staff followed up and checked on her after the scary moment, and offered her and her friends tickets to return for a future game.
The Mariners were shut out by the Padres on Friday night, 2-0.
Jake Paul calls Conor McGregor ‘cokehead,’ accuses Dana White of hijacking Francis Ngannou's walkout
INGLEWOOD, CA — Saturday night's Netflix-MVP fight night delivered wild moments ranging from bloody fights to Nate Diaz sparking up a joint in the press conference room while his nose was still gushing after losing to Mike Perry in two rounds.
The internet mogul, Paul, was supposed to be celebrating the achievement of his promotional empire Saturday night when UFC boss Dana White inserted himself into the spotlight once again by announcing Conor McGregor’s UFC return fight on July 17 during the live-streamed event.
The bombshell news also broke during Francis Ngannou’s walkout.
After we at OutKick questioned Jake Paul over whether Dana had any secret intentions with the timing of the announcement, Paul went off on "insecure, little" Dana White.
"Oh, the cokehead is back," Paul told OutKick.
Paul argued the announcement only showed how threatened the UFC feels by the momentum surrounding his promotion. The timing is anything but random. It managed to split the combat sports world’s attention between Paul’s event and White’s blockbuster UFC announcement.
"That's cool, bro. Drop the McGregor news during our event. It doesn't matter. That just shows how pressed they are, little insecure boys trying to piggyback off our event and put some news over top of us. It's not going to work, buddy."
DANA WHITE SAYS UFC FIGHTERS DELIBERATELY HIDE PAY FROM FANS TO AVOID GIVING 'HANDOUTS'
OutKick reached out to the UFC for a response.
After all, Ngannou famously left the UFC after a bitter contract dispute, making his entrance as news alerts about McGregor flooded social media.
The bad blood between the two isn’t new. It was fueled by Paul’s relentless trolling of White and his public crusade against the UFC’s fighter pay structure.
White has routinely dismissed his credibility, while Paul has spared no effort in portraying White as an exploitative leader.
That deep-seated animosity set the stage perfectly for White to disrupt Paul’s biggest moment yet.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
California trans athlete podium controversy ignites outrage among politicians, activists
A girls' track and field meet in California became the subject of national controversy for the second week in a row when a trans athlete swept three jumping events. What happened on the medal podium afterward became a point of mockery.
Trans athlete AB Hernandez won first place in the high jump, long jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section finals on Saturday. So too did the girl who would have finished first, based on a rule enacted last year that awarded any female athlete that finished behind a trans athlete a higher placement.
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Photos and video of the three podium ceremonies — one of which showed Hernandez and the top female finisher sharing the podium's top spot — went viral on social media, prompting backlash against the CIF among politicians including Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-N.C.; and activists including Riley Gaines and Jennifer Sey.
The CIF enacted a pilot program for the state finals last May that awarded any female athlete that finished behind a trans athlete one higher spot, which resulted in girls sharing podium spots with Hernandez for the championship. The program also ensured any female athlete who finished one spot out of qualifying for the state finals in events that included a trans competitor, to compete for the title as well.
Then in a recent letter to parents dated May 16, the CIF announced that program would be re-introduced starting for Saturday's events.
"The CIF values all our student-athletes, and we will continue to uphold our mission in providing students the opportunity to belong, connect and compete, while competing with California law and education code," the letter wrote.
The CIF originally enacted the program, which also advances to the state final any female athlete who finished one spot out of qualifying in events including a trans competitor, last May after Hernandez advanced to the state final, prompting President Donald Trump to speak out against California and Gov. Gavin Newsom and threaten a loss of federal funding if his executive order aimed at protecting girls' and women's sports wasn't followed.
Trump's Department of Justice then filed a Title IX lawsuit against the state's education agencies in July of last year, after Hernandez won two state titles and finished in second place in another.
The parent of a female athlete at Saturday's meet told Fox News Digital that a coach informed them that the same pilot program would be implemented for the remainder of the state postseason, starting with the section final on Saturday.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the CIF for a response.
The controversy around Hernandez and Jurupa Valley's track and field season was renewed last Saturday when "Save Girls Sports" protesters held a rally at the sectional preliminary round. A source within Newsom's office provided a statement to Fox News Digital in the days before that meet, addressing the rally.
"The Governor has said discussions on this issue should be guided by fairness, dignity, and respect. He rejects the right wing’s cynical attempt to weaponize this debate as an excuse to vilify individual kids. The Governor’s position is simple: stand with all kids and stand up to bullies," the statement read.
"California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring students be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school sports consistent with their gender identity. California passed this law in 2013 (AB 1266) and it was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown."
Hernandez, now a Southern Section champion again, along with all the other winners will move on to the CIF preliminaries next Saturday to face the rest of the state's top female jumpers, with a chance to get back to the state finals.
The two-day state finals begin on May 29 in Clovis, California.
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Trump warns Iran's 'clock is ticking': Move 'fast' or 'there won't be anything left'
President Donald Trump renewed his stern warnings for Iran to come to peace and end its nuclear weapons aspirations Sunday.
"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
"TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!"
Trump, fresh off his trek to meet China's Xi Jinping face to face, is weighing restarting military action on Iran, Fox News Digital reported earlier Sunday.
TRUMP WARNS IRAN'S 'CLOCK IS TICKING': MOVE 'FAST' OR 'THERE WON'T BE ANYTHING LEFT'
The president also had a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
"Our eyes are also open regarding Iran," Netanyahu said Sunday morning, as translated from Hebrew. "I will speak today, as I do every few days, with our friend President Trump.
"I will certainly hear impressions from his trip to China, and perhaps other matters as well. There are certainly many possibilities, and we are prepared for every scenario."
TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION
Trump remains at the White House on Sunday, but no public or press appearances were on his schedule.
The call with Netanyahu came amid regional intelligence assessments on Iran that restarting of military strikes might be coming because of Trump's frustration with Iran's tactics amid the closing of the Strait of Hormuz and the rejection of his demand to give up nuclear weapons aspirations.
"The prevailing assessment inside Iran is that President Trump may resort to restarting military action, and Tehran is now deliberately pursuing a strategy of 'deception and delay' with the hopes that buying time will complicate any potential return to war," two regional intelligence officials told Fox News.
EXPERTS WARN IRAN’S NUCLEAR DOUBLE-TALK DESIGNED TO BUY TIME, UNDERMINE US PRESSURE
Intelligence officials believe that the Iranian regime thinks it can delay developments and stretch the crisis out for at least two more weeks, so that the situation could become more difficult for Trump to restart the military campaign, both politically and operationally.
These sources say Iranian officials are looking at the World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary as a backstop that could work in their favor.
The impact of the U.S.-led blockade is becoming increasingly visible inside Iran, according to a senior Israeli official, early signs of a developing fuel crisis emerging over the weekend – including long lines at gas stations and growing public discontent over fuel shortages and distribution problems.
"It’s getting exponentially worse," the official added.
Fox News' Trey Yingst and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
Pro wrestling star learns what 'land of opportunity' means in US as he details journey from Italy to America
Cristiano Argento has been tearing up opponents in the ring for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as he worked his way up the ladder to get a few shots at some gold.
But the path to get to one of the most prestigious pro wrestling companies in the U.S. was long and a path that not many wrestlers have taken.
Argento was born and raised in Osimo, Italy – a town of about 35,000 people located on the east side of the country closer to the Adriatic Sea. He told Fox News Digital he started training in a ring at a boxing gym before he got started on the independent scene in Italy. He wrestled in Germany, Sweden, France and Denmark before he came to the realization that, to become a professional wrestler, he needed to make his way to the United States.
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He first worked his way to Canada to get trained by pro wrestling legend Lance Storm. He moved to Canada, leaving most of his friends and family behind and without a firm grasp on the English language.
"At the time, my English was horrible. I didn’t speak any English at all," he said. "But I was with my friend, Stefano, he came with me and he translated everything for me. I probably missed 50% of the knowledge that Lance Storm was giving to us because I was unable to understand. I was only given a recap and everything I was able to see. I’m sure if I was doing it now with a proper knowledge of English, it would have been a different scenario.
"Eventually, I moved back to Italy after the training and I said, OK, now, I want to go to the U.S. So, I studied English more properly, and eventually I got my first work visa that was in Texas. I was in Houston for a short period of time. I trained with Booker T at Reality of Wrestling. I got on his show, which was my debut in the U.S. That was awesome. I eventually got a new work visa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I currently live since 2017. Since then, my wrestling career, thankfully, kept growing, growing, growing and growing until now wrestling for the NWA. One of the bigger promotions in the U.S."
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Argento said that his family thought he was "nuts" for chasing his pro wrestling dream.
He said they were more concerned about his well-being given that he was half-way around the world without anyone he knew by his side in case something went sideways.
"My family, friends, everybody was like why do you want to move to the opposite side of the world not knowing the language, not knowing anybody, by yourself, to try to become a professional wrestler? And I was like, well, we have one life, I love, and that’s what I’m gonna do," he told Fox News Digital. "Eventually, my family was really supportive. But when I first said, ‘Hey, mom and dad, I want to do that.’ They looked at me like, ‘Are you nuts? Are you drunk or something? What are you talking about?’ And I said, no that’s what I want to do. And they knew I loved this sport because in Italy I was traveling around Europe, spending time in Canada training, so they started to understand slowly that’s what I want to do with my life. They were proud of me.
"They’re still proud of me. I think more like the fact that you’re gonna try that, that it’s hard than more like you’re gonna leave us. The fact like, oh, my son is gonna go on the opposite side of the world for a six-hour time difference and we’re gonna see him maybe, when, like, I don’t know. Not often. I think it was more that. And for me too, it was really hard. It was heartbreaking not being able to see my family every day or every month. Like once a year if I’m lucky. I think that was the biggest part for them because of concern or that I was here by myself and if I have any issue or any problem, I didn’t have nobody. So they were scared. Like, you get sick, if you have a problem, anything, and they’re not being able to be here next to me. But they were really supportive since day one."
Argento is living out his dream in the U.S. He suggested that the moniker of the U.S. being the "land of opportunity" wasn’t far from what is preached in movies and literature – it was the real thing.
"I was inspired by people who came to the U.S. and made it big," Argento told Fox News Digital. "The U.S. was always like the land of opportunity. That’s how they sell it to us and this is what it is. I feel like, in myself, that was true because anything I tried to do so far I was able to reach a lot more than if I wasn’t here. I’m not yet where I’d like to be but I see like there’s so many opportunities in this country. Not just in wrestling but like in any business to reach the goal. I’m really happy of the choices I did here.
"But my big inspirations were big-time actors who moved to the country, who didn’t know English, with no money, no support system. I had one dream, I have to go right there to make it happen and I’m gonna go and do it and I’m gonna make it happen. So those people were always the biggest inspiration even if it wasn’t in wrestling, just how they handled their passion, how they pursued their dream without being scared of anything, how far you are, how alone by yourself … You don’t know the language, you’re like, let’s go, let’s do it."
Outside of the NWA, Argento has performed for the International Wrestling Cartel, Enjoy Wrestling and Exodus Pro Wrestling this year.
Van Hollen argues Netanyahu found Trump ‘stupid enough’ to drag him into Iran war
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday of pulling President Donald Trump into the war with Iran during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," as the president returned from a China summit without Beijing making a specific commitment to help broker an end to the conflict.
"The president got dragged into this war. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he’d been waiting 40 years for somebody to go to war with him in Iran. He found a president stupid enough to do it," he said. "I blame Donald Trump for that decision, but here we are."
Van Hollen said the U.S. does not need China to end the fighting, arguing that Trump could stop the war by changing course.
"I don’t think we need China’s support," Van Hollen said. "I think the fastest way to end the war in Iran is just to stop digging a hole even deeper, and that’s what we should do right now."
TRUMP PUSHES BACK AGAINST PUNDITS, SAYS ISRAEL DID NOT TALK HIM INTO THE IRAN WAR
The Maryland Democrat said Trump had campaigned on avoiding new wars and lowering costs, but that the conflict had undercut both promises.
"After all, Donald Trump was the candidate who said he was going to keep us out of wars, and he was going to focus on bringing down prices, and of course he’s done just the opposite," Van Hollen said. "Gas and other prices are going through the roof."
When asked whether diplomacy could still produce another nuclear agreement with Iran, Van Hollen pointed to the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 accord struck by Iran, the United States and other world powers.
"Well, I know if we had people who are willing to negotiate, we could get it done because we got that done when President Obama was in office," Van Hollen said.
WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR
"The JCPOA prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. It dramatically contained its nuclear enrichment program, and it had the world’s most intense inspection regime."
Van Hollen also cited Trump's past claim that his administration had already destroyed Iran's nuclear enrichment program.
"Just last year, Donald Trump told the country that he had obliterated Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, taken care of it, and his head of DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, testified that they have no evidence that Iran wants to resume it," Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen’s criticism came a week after Netanyahu told CBS’s "60 Minutes" that Iran’s nuclear material still had to be removed for the war to end.
"You go in, and you take it out," Netanyahu said when asked how the highly enriched uranium should be removed.
The White House has defended the Iran campaign as a military effort to eliminate an "imminent nuclear threat," and said in June 2025 that Iran's nuclear facilities had been "obliterated."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Underwater tragedy in Maldives leaves families searching for answers after cave deaths
After five Italian divers died while exploring a deep underwater cave off the Maldives, families of the victims are demanding answers.
Monica Montefalcone, 52, an associate ecology professor at the University of Genoa, and her daughter, Giorgia, 20, were among the dead, according to The Associated Press (AP).
In an interview with local newspaper La Repubblica, Montefalcone's husband, Carlo Sommacal, said his wife "would never have put the life of our daughter or other kids at risk."
MALDIVES MILITARY DIVER DIES SEARCHING FOR 4 ITALIAN DIVERS MISSING INSIDER UNDERWATER CAVE SYSTEM
"My only certainty is that my wife is one of the best scuba divers on the face of the earth," Sommacal told the media outlet.
"Something must have happened," he said in a different interview with an Italian television station, according to AP.
The victims included marine researchers and experienced divers. Among them: Monica Montefalcone, an ecology professor at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.
Gianluca Benedetti was found dead near the cave entrance shortly after the group disappeared.
Authorities believe the bodies of the four remaining divers are trapped deep inside a cave system about 160 feet underwater near Vaavu Atoll.
The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.
5 DANGEROUS CRUISE PORTS THAT TRAVELERS SHOULD RESEARCH BEFORE BOOKING EXCURSIONS
The divers were in an underwater cave near Alimathaa, a dive site, in Vaavu Atoll, AP reported.
Vaavu Atoll is a chain of islands in the central Maldives, located southwest of Sri Lanka and India.
Authorities were alerted after the divers failed to surface by midday Thursday, when weather conditions were rough, per AP.
Italy's Foreign Ministry said the group "apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters (164 feet)," the AP reported.
Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef told reporters the cave was exceptionally dangerous.
"The cave is so deep that divers even with the best equipment do not try to approach," he said.
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Local officials described the tragedy as the Maldives' worst single diving accident.
An Italian pulmonologist told local outlet Adnkronos that the incident "suggests a problem with the tanks."
Five divers dying during the same dive event suggests "not so much a depth problem, but rather [an issue with] what they breathed," Claudio Micheletto, director of pulmonology at the University Hospital of Verona, told Adnkronos.
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"It is likely that something did not work in the tanks," Micheletto told the local outlet.
"The people using them could not have noticed: Checks are the responsibility of those who produce and manage the equipment."
Alfonso Bolognini, president of the Italian Society of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine, said there are several possible explanations, including "an inadequate breathing mixture that can create a hyperoxic crisis," according to Adnkronos.
Bolognini also suggested panic may have contributed to the deadly dive, according to Italian newswires.
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"Inside a cave at 50 meters deep, all it takes is a problem for one operator or a panic attack for one diver," he said.
"In these cases, the panic component could lead to even fatal mistakes."
A perilous search for the bodies of the divers was halted Saturday after a military diver died during the mission.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said the cave system consists of three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Rescue teams explored two chambers Friday but were forced to stop because of decompression risks.
Officials are now awaiting the arrival of three Finnish cave-diving specialists to reassess the operation.
Stephen Sorace of Fox News Digital, as well as The Associated Press, contributed reporting.