Russian Swimmers Complete Eco-relay Across Lake Baikal

Irkutsk, Russia, Aug 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Aug, 2020 ) :A group of Russians completed an icy swim across Lake Baikal in Siberia on Wednesday in an effort to draw attention to ecological threats facing the world's largest freshwater lake.

The four men and one woman finished their continuous relay of 55 kilometres (34 miles) spanning the width of the lake and ending near the Siberian city of Irkutsk.

Each swimmer completed 30-minute stints in the water before another participant took over, a necessary precaution with water temperatures plunging as low as 9 degrees Celsius (48 Fahrenheit).

"The swim is dedicated to the ecology and purity of Baikal, to draw attention to our Baikal," one of the swimmers, Andrei Bugai, told AFP on a support boat.

The swimmers donned regular swim attire rather than wetsuits.

"When the temperature is low, your muscles become really hard and your body is not your own," said one of the swimmers Yevgeny Zazyulya.

"We weren't so ready for this. It's an unusual experience."Called "For Clean Baikal," the relay, which took 18 hours and finished in the early hours of Wednesday, aimed to draw attention to pollution of Lake Baikal.