Video captures skydivers shattering world record

A video that captured a world record-setting skydive last year shows the descent with stomach-turning clarity.

A total of 138 skydivers leapt from planes over Ottawa, Illinois on August 4, 2012 to break the world record for the number of people in a vertical skydive, according to news reports at the time.

The daredevils leaped at 18,500 feet and despite reaching speeds of 220 miles per hour while plummeting to the Earth, they took a moment to join hands, forming a snowflake in the sky.

While Skydive Chicago broke the record several months ago, the new video shows the jump in breathtaking slow-motion filmed by a GoPro camera. The Earth looks vast from such heights.

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GoPro posted the video to YouTube on Tuesday and it's been viewed more than 76,973 times.

The skydive took 15 attempts in three days to break a record set by 108 skydivers in 2009.