Chinese submarine reaches depth of 5,057m during test dive

A Chinese manned submersible successfully reached a depth of 5,057 meters during a test dive Tuesday in the Pacific Ocean, according to the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).The test dive of the submersible Jiaolong started at 3:38 a.m. Tuesday, carrying a three-member crew to the depth of 5,057 meters in an international area of the ocean.The vessel resurfaced at 9:23 a.m. and it returned to the mother ship. All the three crew members have left the cabin after the 6-hour mission.Such a depth means Jiaolong could reach over 70 percent of the seabed in the world, said the SOA.The crew on board the submersible was in sound condition when Jiaolong reached the death of 5,057 meters. The SOA said the submersible is expected to have a 7,000-meter test dive in 2012.The Jiaolong is the worlds first manned submersible designed to reach the depth of 7,000 meters below sea level, according to Xu Qinan, chief designer of the submersible.The craft completed 17 dives in the South China Sea from May 31 to July 18 last year, with the deepest at 3,759 meters with three crew members on board.Initiating the Jiaolong project in 2002, China is the fifth country in the world to send a man 3,500 meters below sea level, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan.