Submarines set lake dive record

Two manned submarines today set a world record for the deepest freshwater dive reaching the bottom of Lake Baikal.

The Mir-1 and Mir-2 submersibles descended 1.05 miles to the bottom of the vast Siberian lake, the world’s deepest.

The dives in Baikal, which is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, were part of a scientific expedition, Russia said.

Scientists plan to take samples of water and soil, and will plant a small pyramid bearing the Russian flag in the lake bed.

Mission chief Anatoly Sagalevich said earlier that the mission will make a total of 60 dives.

Organisers then will compile a list of recommendations aimed at preserving Lake Baikal, a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Mir-1 and Mir-2 went below the North Pole last August, when Russian participants planted their country’s flag in a titanium capsule on the Arctic Ocean floor to symbolically claim the seabed.