Russian divers took the Olympic torch into the world’s deepest lake, Baikal in Siberia, on Saturday, ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The water-resistant torch plunged into Lake Baikal on the 56th day of its journey, which began in Olympia, the birthplace of Olympic Games in Greece.

Russian emergency ministry divers Nikolai Rybachenko and Alexander Vronsky held the torch and descended to a depth of 13 meters in the Lake Baikal, which has the deepest point of 1,642 meters (5,387 feet).

Underwater is not the only environment the Olympic torch has ventured into. Russian cosmonauts took the torch out for a space-walk outside the International Space Station, attached to their space suits, in November.

The 2014 Winter Olympics will begin on Feb.7 in Sochi, Russia.

AA