The five-year anniversary of the Copiapó mine rescue in Chile has special significance for the employees of Aries Industries. The Wisconsin-based company designed and built the video camera that was lowered into the ground, letting rescuers and families know that the miners were alive.

The mine collapsed on Aug. 5, 2010, trapping 33 miners a 1/2 mile underground for 69 days. The rescue became international news as the world waited anxiously for word of their safety.

On day 17, an exploratory drill broke through into the mine. The compact camera designed by Aries was lowered into the mine, recording video that revealed that the miners were safe.

As rescue teams worked to drill a new hole wide enough to extract the men, the miners recorded a 40-minute video, speaking to their families and thanking the rescue crews and people around the world for their support.

On Oct. 13, 2010, all 33 men were brought safely to the surface by a winching operation that lasted nearly 24 hours. More than 1 billion people watched the rescue of the miners on television.

To read more about Aries' role in the rescue, read "Looking Deep" from the December 2010 issue of  our sister publication, Cleaner magazine.