October 10, 201015 yr This is amazing, we still can't believe they'll be rescued that soon, everyone said they'd be rescued in December. I think it's awesome to see how the hard work, the technology and all the effort lots of people put on this is finally getting results. The miners had an internal organization there which made everything easier, it's probably hard to deal with 32 other people in such a extreme situation but they're doing a great job. At 8:05 a.m. Saturday, more than two agonizing months after a mine collapse trapped 33 men nearly half a mile beneath the earth, a powerful drill fitted with pneumatic hammers pulverized the last feet of volcanic rock and struck air. In the chilly desert above, machine operators yelped and poured Champagne. Bleary-eyed family members, who had gathered at the site through the night, waved the Chilean flag, sang the national anthem and shouted “Viva Chilean miners!” Below, the miners erupted in cheers, their cries transmitted by radio to the surface. They had been trapped for 66 days, the longest known time that miners have survived a collapse. On the other side of the drill tip was their escape shaft to the surface. “There have been hard moments, beautiful moments, sad moments, moments filled with happiness, nights where we were cold here,” said Juan Sánchez, 48, the father of Jimmy Sánchez, the youngest of the trapped miners. “But we just kept going, trusting in God that this would all work out. Right now all I feel is happiness; it’s like a calm has come over us.” The breakthrough was a crucial milestone in a long and torturous effort that has captivated Chile and riveted the world. An extraordinary array of international talent had been gath-ered and new rescue techniques pioneered on the fly to plow through rock without compromising the miners’ safety. Chilean officials brought in advisers from NASA, custom-built steel rescue capsules and even fed the trapped miners meat pies baked in the form of cylinders to be slipped down a narrow hole more than 2,050 feet below the surface. But the ordeal is far from over and officials said it was likely to be Wednesday at the earliest before the miners catch their first glimpse of sunlight and breath of fresh air. The words of the mining minister, Laurence Golborne, tamped down the festivities. “The families are clear, the miners are clear what still needs to be done and the time it will take,” he said. “We still haven’t rescued anyone.” The next phase of the rescue effort is expected to be just as perilous. The rescue shaft is little more than two feet wide, and engineers have decided to line its upper walls with steel pipes to prevent rocks from tumbling into the shaft and blocking the way. But installing tons of steel pipes is not without risk, and could even cause further collapse. The men will be raised one by one in the capsules, nicknamed the Phoenix, which engineers are concerned could snag the walls of the shaft. The miners themselves, some weakened by the ordeal, might have to set off dynamite to widen the hole on their end so that the capsule has enough room. Even so, it is going to be a tight fit. The rescue shaft is not straight, bending through rocky walls and providing as little as a few inches of clearance around the capsule. The miners have been keeping their weight under control so they can fit in the capsule, which is about 21 inches wide and built with suggestions from the NASA team. Atop the rescue drill, operators of the T-130, which beat out two other rigs working simultaneously to reach the miners, celebrated by pumping their fists in the air and spraying each other with Champagne. “This is a symbolic moment,” said Ximena Matas, a local city councilwoman. “Their families have been waiting a long time for this.” The gold and copper mine, near the northern city of Copiapó, caved in on Aug. 5 but it was not until 17 days later that a small bore hole reached the miners and they sent up a message telling rescuers they were still alive. All along, Chilean officials have worked to involve the miners in their own rescue, duties intended to aid the work as well as the miners’ psychological health. Their work continued on Saturday as they helped the drillers bore through the final few feet, said Claudio Soto, an employee of Schramm, the maker of the T-130 drilling rig. Mr. Soto said the miners were in radio contact with the chief driller, telling him when the tip of the drill first appeared. That way the driller could slow the machinery down, to avoid a sudden breakthrough of the entire drill, which would have put undue strain on the equipment. “They were telling us how much more we had to go,” he said. “In that way it was a very, very controlled operation.” more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/world/americas/10chile.html
October 10, 201015 yr This is such a sad, riveting story. God help them escape that hell soon. Can't even imagine....
October 10, 201015 yr This is great news! I'm worried of the side effects upon the trapped miners, since they were trapped in there for quite a while.
October 10, 201015 yr all our hearts are with them!! Just my words! Fingers crossed that the next phases go well too so that the men can soon get up safe - and without further collapse.
October 10, 201015 yr Author This is great news! I'm worried of the side effects upon the trapped miners, since they were trapped in there for quite a while. I think someone said it's like if they went to a space mission or something, so they'll get access to psychologists and well, it seems they are healthy considering the situacion they've been in. They even have an exercise rutine and learned how to deal with the press
October 10, 201015 yr I think someone said it's like if they went to a space mission or something, so they'll get access to psychologists and well, it seems they are healthy considering the situacion they've been in. They even have an exercise rutine and learned how to deal with the press Deal with the press after they're rescued? I was also thinking about being in a mine, whether there are harmful substances in there that could affect their health. It's like being exposed to it.
October 10, 201015 yr i've heard that a doctor will get down there first to check they all are ok, and they will get to surface with their eyes covered to avoid problems on their sight due to the lack of sunlight exposure all this time. it kinda remind me when people here got kidnaped and were forced to stay in zulos for lot of months. :( i hope they all are OK. i'm glad it worked a lot sooner than they expected to, first they said it'll be a work upto to christmas to free them from there, right?
October 10, 201015 yr I'm sure there'll be loads of radon gas down there, but they usually have some sort of vent for that
October 10, 201015 yr I'm across the world from Chile, but I gotta admit, this issue is handled really well.
October 10, 201015 yr Author Deal with the press after they're rescued? I was also thinking about being in a mine, whether there are harmful substances in there that could affect their health. It's like being exposed to it. there is press from everywhere there, it's crazy. I think there is clean air there and they have air cleaner machines or something, they were in a side of the mine with a big % of humidity but they moved to a more comfortable environment like 2 days after they were found edit: Lyv, everyone is taking this very seriously and using all the resources needed, I also think they've done a great job. They have like a small town in the middle of the desert there, to make sure the families and rescuers are ok. Also there are people from another countries helping. Last night I watched in the news that some US guys who worked in Afghanistan drilling and looking for water came here to help
October 10, 201015 yr there is press from everywhere there, it's crazy. I think there is clean air there and they have air cleaner machines or something, they were in a side of the mine with a big % of humidity but they moved to a more comfortable environment like 2 days after they were found Wait, they moved on their own? :thinking:
October 10, 201015 yr Author Wait, they moved on their own? :thinking: yeah, they were in a surprisingly good condition, so they did it. The mine is big so they have lots of space available
October 10, 201015 yr yeah, they were in a surprisingly good condition, so they did it. The mine is big so they have lots of space available Ah, okay. Good to hear. :wacko:
October 12, 201015 yr Author Chile's Trapped Miners Finally Set to Escape COPIAPO, Chile (Reuters) - The first of Chile's 33 trapped miners are set to travel nearly half a mile through solid rock in a shaft just wider than a man's shoulders on Tuesday, as their two month ordeal after a cave-in draws to an end. Nervous anticipation grew among the miners' relatives and friends as Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said rescuers aimed to start hoisting the miners from 6 p.m. (2100 GMT), hours ahead of schedule. The men have spent 68 days in the hot, humid bowels of a gold and copper mine in Chile's northern Atacama desert after an August 5 collapse, and now face a harrowingly claustrophobic journey to the surface in specially-made capsules. Wives, children, parents and friends are waiting on an arid, rocky hillside around 2,050 feet directly above them at a tent settlement dubbed "Camp Hope." An entire nation, still recovering from a devastating February earthquake, is ready to celebrate. "Right now I'm calm, though still very anxious. I hope my nerves don't betray me when the rescue starts," said Jessica Salgado, whose husband Alex is trapped below, as the sun rose over the camp. "The first thing I'm going to do is hug him hard, tell him how much I love him, and how I've missed him all this time," she added. She said Mining Minister Laurence Golborne had told the men's relatives that rescuers could start to raise them from the depths a few hours before his original Tuesday midnight (0300 GMT Wednesday) estimate. Many miners' relatives staged vigils as the climax neared. Noemi Donoso, whose 43-year-old son-in-law Samuel Avalos is among the trapped, sat praying in a tent with four family members, their hands joined together to form a circle, singing hymns and chanting "hallelujah" and "glory to God." Her daughter had just left to have her hair done in a makeshift hairdressers in another of the camp's tents. "She went to the salon to get fixed up so she can look pretty when she receives him," Donoso said, as excited school children ran around the camp with face paint on. ESCAPE ROUTE TESTED Rescuers on Monday successfully tested a capsule, dubbed "Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rose from the ashes, after they partially lined the narrow escape duct with metal tubes to avoid any last-minute disasters. They originally found the men, miraculously all alive, 17 days after the collapse with a bore hole the width of grapefruit, which then became an umbilical cord used to pass hydration gels, water and food to keep them alive during one of the world's most ambitious rescue operations. The men have set a world record for the length of time workers have survived underground after a mining accident, and have been doing exercises to keep their weight down for their ascent. It has been an agonizing wait. "We are doing better now. We are almost there," said Gaston Henriquez, who has camped out near the mine entrance since the beginning of the ordeal, waiting for his brother Jose to escape. Once the evacuations start, it will take 48 hours to extract the men. Four rescuers will be lowered to help the miners prepare to return to the surface. Each man's journey to the surface should take about 12 to 15 minutes. The miners will have their eyes closed and will immediately be given dark glasses to avoid damaging their eyesight after spending so long in a dimly lit tunnel. President Sebastian Pinera, who ordered a revamp of mine safety regulations in the wake of the accident, plans to visit the mine on Tuesday. One of the 33 miners is a Bolivian national and Bolivian President Evo Morales has vowed to visit the mine for his rescue. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/10/12/world/international-us-chile-miners.html?hp
October 12, 201015 yr I'll be watching the news, then. Great to hear they'll be getting about and soon.
October 12, 201015 yr What a joyous ending. They should all write books, charge for interviews, and sell rights to a movie so they can be able to afford a life of not having to work in these mines anymore !
October 12, 201015 yr This is fantastic news although slight nerves must still remain. Admirable efforts by all involved. I heard recently that the mining minister Laurence Golbourne has approval ratings of over 80%. Brilliant! I pray for the safe exit of all the miners.
October 12, 201015 yr What a joyous ending. They should all write books, charge for interviews, and sell rights to a movie so they can be able to afford a life of not having to work in these mines anymore ! :tongue:
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