A 10-meter-long unidentified creature was sighted in Sailimu Lake, near Bole city in west China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sunday, June 17, 2007. [Photo: cnr.cn ]

An unidentified large water creature was discovered by bike race competitors on Sunday at Sailimu Lake, the biggest high mountain lake in west China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The discovery came as the region’s first ever bike race circling Sailimu Lake entered its third stage of competition on Sunday.

CN Radio quoted witnesses as saying the unidentified creature is about 10 meters long, and when its back was exposed out of the water, it looked like the spine of a big fish. The witnesses said it sank back into water after swimming over 50 meters.

The discovery echoes numerous earlier rumours about a so-called “water monster” in the lake. But so far no one can prove whether or not this unidentified creature is in fact the rumoured “water monster”. Records say there has never been any such 10-meter-long big fish found in the lake.

Identification of the unknown creature still needs to be verified by scientist investigation.