Argentines set world record for most people floating at one time

Nearly 2,000 people floated in a line in a salty lake in Argentina on Sunday, January 29th, setting a new Guinness world record for the most people floating while holding hands.

Members of the Guinness Book of Records certified that 1,941 people floated simultaneously for 30 seconds in Lake Epecuen, located to the southeast of the Buenos Aires province.

The previous record was set on June 28, 2014 in Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan, when 634 people floated in line, using flotation devices.

Participants in Argentina floated unaided in Lake Epecuen, due to saltiness of the water. The lake is hypermarine and contains almost 10 times more salt than the sea, helping participants to float naturally, according to local organizers.

The world record was set within the frame of a local thermal tourism festival.

Lake Epecuen is only comparable to the Dead Sea and is beneficial for relaxation, local authorities said.

It is visited by countless tourists annually, who enjoy the sunsets over the lake, the eco-sustainable beach and Villa Epecuen, which was once a popular Argentine spa town and resort on the shore of the lake.

In 1985, the town was flooded when the lake overflowed after heavy rainfall.

Residents and tourists were forced to evacuate as homes and buildings were submerged under almost 33 feet of salt water.

Buildings from the town have now risen above the water and the area has again become a tourist attraction with visitors enjoying its apocalyptic atmosphere.