Chinese manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong reached a depth of 5,143 meters in its third test dive in eastern Pacific Ocean Thursday morning (Beijing time), said the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).

The submersible took photos, shoot video, and made topography scan at the ocean floor.

The submersible entered the water at about 3 a.m., currently in sound conditions.

It successfully reached a depth of 5,057 meters during a test dive conducted Tuesday. Such a depth means Jiaolong could reach over 70 percent of the seabed in the world, said the SOA.

The SOA said the submersible is expected to have a 7,000-meter test dive in 2012.

Jiaolong is the world's first manned submersible designed to reach the depth of 7,000 meters below sea level, according to Xu Qinan, chief designer of the submersible.

China, initiating the Jiaolong project in 2002, is the fifth country to send a man 3,500 meters below sea level, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2011)