Up to his neck in it: 'Ice man' sets immersion world record in France

Frenchman Romain Vandendorpe set a world record for sitting immersed in ice cubes for the longest time on Saturday, enduring the extreme challenge to raise money for childhood cancers.

The 34-year-old health worker remained buried up to his neck in ice for two hours, 35 minutes and 43 seconds, breaking the previous record by 40 minutes in the northern French town of Wattrelos.

He said he trained to "overcome human limits" by neuro-cognitive techniques based on "imagination and concentration" to put himself in "a state of daydreaming." His training techniques including sitting in an ice-cold jacuzzi, training in a 500-litre freezer and then remaining buried in snow.

He aims to donate the money raised through his feat to the Wonder Augustine association founded in Wattrelos following the death of a four-year-old girl called Augustine two years ago from brain cancer.