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CHINA’S unmanned submersible reached a depth of 10,767 meters, setting a new national record, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said yesterday.

Haidou-1 set the record at the Mariana Trench in the West Pacific, the deepest area in the world, during a scientific expedition lasting from June 22 to August 12.

During the trip the submersible was over 8,000 meters below the sea surface once, 9,000 meters twice and 10,000 meters twice.

China is the third country after Japan and the United States to have built submersibles capable of reaching depths in excess of 10,000 meters.

“It is another milestone in our maritime science journey after Jiaolong manned submersible,” said CAS scientist Liu Xincheng, head of the expedition.

Scientists also collected over 2,000 biological samples from 5,000 meters to 10,000 meters below sea level, including some unidentified species.

In June 2012, Jiaolong reached a depth of 7,062 meters at the Mariana Trench, the deepest by China’s manned submersible.