A new skydiving record was set Friday in Ottawa, Ill., at speeds up to 240 mph.
164 people jumped from airplanes, falling into a flower formation and holding hands for a few minutes before continuing to drop to earth. The previous skydiving record was set by 138 people in 2012, according to The Associated Press. It took the new record-holding team 13 attempts to beat that mark.
This feat wasn't without risks — jump from such a high altitude (nearly 20,000 feet), and parachutes or people can collide. The AP continues:
"Despite the risks, flyers came from as far away as France, Britain, Dubai and Australia — one even spent three days traveling to Chicago from Reunion, off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean — to participate. " 'When (record) jumps work well, it's like there's a certain peace to it all, a certain harmony to it all,' said Norman Kent, a longtime skydiving videographer who filmed the jump. 'And it's contagious, it's like it's in the air and you can feel it even from a distance as a cameraman.' "
But, if it's done correctly, it can be beautiful:
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