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120 days – German sets world record for longest time spent underwater

120 days – German sets world record for longest time spent underwater

A German engineer has celebrated setting a world record for the longest life underwater without pressure - 120 days in a capsule submerged off the coast of Panama.

Rudiger Koch, 59, emerged from his 30-square-meter underwater home on Friday in the presence of Guinness World Records judge Susana Reyes.

She confirmed that Koch had beaten the record previously held by American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days living in an underwater lodge in a Florida lagoon, writes the Guardian, the Telegraph reports.


"It was a great adventure and now it's over, in fact there's almost a feeling of regret. I really enjoyed my time here," Koch said after leaving the capsule 11 meters under the sea.

"It's beautiful when things calm down and it gets dark and the sea shines," he said of the view through the holes.

"It's impossible to describe, you have to experience it yourself," the German added.

To celebrate, Koch drank champagne and smoked a cigar before jumping into the Caribbean Sea, where a boat picked him up and took him to dry land for a party.

Koch's capsule had most of the equipment for modern life: bed, toilet, TV, computer and internet – even an exercise bike.

Located 15 minutes by boat from the coast of northern Panama, it was connected to another chamber located above the sea by a tube containing a narrow spiral staircase, providing a route down for food and visitors, including a doctor.

Solar panels on the surface provided electricity. There was also a backup generator.

"What we're trying to do here is prove that the seas are actually a sustainable environment for people," he said. /Telegraph/