Red Sea Divers
A group of divers exploring a coral reef in the Red Sea, Egypt on May 1, 2017.
Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images
  • An Egyptian scuba diver has broken a new world record by spending 145 hours or almost six days under water. 
  • Saddam Al-Kilany, 29, beat the world record of 142 hours and 47 minutes reached by Turkish diver Cem Karabay in 2016.
  • Al-Kilany has previously made headlines for holding his engagement ceremony to his fiancée and fellow diver, Dr. Pia Legora, under water in September, Divernet reported.
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An Egyptian scuba diver has broken a new world record by spending 145 hours or six full days underwater. 

Saddam Al-Kilany, 29, remained under the Red Sea for 145 hours and 30 minutes, beating the world record of 142 hours and 47 minutes reached by Turkish diver Cem Karabay in 2016, UPI reported.

After spending five years training for the moment, Al-Kilany also beat his 2017 personal best of 121 hours after diving off the Egyptian coast of Dahab on November 5, according to Lad Bible.

He intended to remain underwater for 150 hours, but this could not be done due to his medical team’s health concerns.

Hundreds gathered to celebrate Al-Kilany as he came out to land after he refused to complete the challenge anywhere but his own country, the Egypt Independent reported. 

Al-Kilany has previously made headlines for holding his engagement ceremony to his fiancée and fellow diver, Dr. Pia Legora, under water in September, Divernet reported.

The news comes days after Slovenian freediver, Alenka Artnik, 39, set a new world record of her own by descending more 374 feet beneath the surface of the sea, according to The Washington Post.

She also entered into the Red Sea but off the Sharm el-Sheikh coast in Egypt and beat her joint record of 370 feet, which she achieved with Italy's Alessia Zecchini during the 2019 Freediving World Championships, Total Slovenia News reported.

 

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