The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the "Chilean mining accident", began on 5 August 2010, with a
cave-in
A cave-in is a collapse of a geologic formation, mine or structure which may occur during mining, tunneling, or steep-walled excavation such as trenching. Geologic structures prone to spontaneous cave-ins include alvar, tsingy and other limes ...
at the
San José copper–gold mine, located in the
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in th ...
north of the regional capital of
Copiapó
Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region.
Copiapó lies about 800 km nort ...
, in northern
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Thirty-three men, trapped underground and from the mine's entrance via spiraling underground ramps, were rescued after 69 days.
[
]
After the state-owned mining company,
Codelco
Codelco (''Corporación Nacional'' ''del'' ''Cobre de Chile'' or, in English, the National Copper Corporation of Chile) is a Chilean state-owned copper mining company. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationalise ...
, took over rescue efforts from the mine's owners, exploratory boreholes were drilled. Seventeen days after the accident, a note was found taped to a drill bit pulled back to the surface: "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33" ("We are well in the shelter, the 33 of us").
Three separate drilling rig teams; nearly every Chilean government ministry; the United States' space agency,
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
; and a dozen corporations from around the world cooperated in completing the rescue. On 13 October 2010 the men were winched to the surface one at a time, in a specially built capsule, as an estimated 5.3 million people watched via video stream worldwide.
["Chilean mine rescue watched by millions online"]
Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 14 October 2010
With few exceptions, they were in good medical condition with no long-term physical effects anticipated.
Private donations covered one-third of the US$20 million cost of the rescue, with the rest coming from the mine owners and the government.
Previous geological instability at the old mine and a long record of safety violations for the mine's owners,
San Esteban Mining Company, had resulted in a series of fines and accidents, including eight deaths, during the dozen years leading up to this accident.
[Gopal Ethiraj (14 October 2004)]
69-day trapped Chilean miners being lifted one by one to safety
, ''Asian Tribune'', Hallstavik, Sweden. Following three years of work, lawsuits and investigations into the collapse concluded in August 2013 with no charges filed.
Background
![Sanjosemine ali 2010259 lrg (Annotated)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Sanjosemine_ali_2010259_lrg_%28Annotated%29.jpg)
Chile's long tradition in mining has made the country the world's
top producer of copper. An average of 34 people per year since 2000 have died in mining accidents in Chile, with a high of 43 in 2008, according to figures from the state regulatory agency "
National Geology and Mining Service
250px, Sernageomin building in Providencia, Santiago.
The National Geology and Mining Service ( es, Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería; SERNAGEOMIN) is a Chilean government agency. Its function is to provide geological information and adv ...
" ( es, Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería de Chile abbreviated to SERNAGEOMIN).
The mine is owned by the
San Esteban Mining Company, ( es, Compañía Minera San Esteban abbreviated to ''CMSE''), a company notorious for operating unsafe mines. According to an official with the non-profit
Chilean Safety Association, ( es, Asociación Chilena de Seguridad, also known as ''ACHS'') eight workers died at the San José site between 1998 and 2010
[Jennifer Yang (10 October 2010)]
"From collapse to rescue: Inside the Chile mine disaster"
''Toronto Star''. while CMSE was fined 42 times between 2004 and 2010 for breaching safety regulations.
The mine was shut down temporarily in 2007 when relatives of a miner killed in an accident sued the company; but the mine reopened in 2008
despite non-compliance with regulations. Due to budget constraints there were only three inspectors for the
Atacama Region's 884 mines during the period leading up to the most recent collapse.
Prior to the accident, CMSE had ignored warnings over unsafe working conditions in its mines. According to Javier Castillo, secretary of the trade union that represents San José's miners, the company's management operates "without listening to the voice of the workers when they say that there is danger or risk". "Nobody listens to us. Then they say we're right. If they had believed the workers, we would not be lamenting this now", said Gerardo Núñez, head of the union at a nearby Candelaria Norte mine.
Chilean copper mine workers are among the highest-paid miners in South America.
Although the accident has called mine safety in Chile into question, serious incidents at large mines are rare, particularly those owned by the state copper mining company, Codelco or by multinational companies.
However, smaller mines such as the one at Copiapó have generally lower safety standards.
Wages at the San Jose Mine were around 20% higher than at other Chilean mines due to its poor safety record.
Collapse
![MSJ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/MSJ.en.svg)
The collapse occurred at 14:00
CLT on 5 August 2010.
Access to the depths of the mine was by a long helical roadway.
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
British TV program ''Buried Alive: The Chilean Mine Rescue'', 8 pm to 9 pm, Wednesday 27 October 2010
One man, an ore-truck driver, was able to get out, but a group of 33 men were trapped deep inside. A thick dust cloud caused by the rock fall blinded the miners for as much as six hours.
Initially, the trapped miners tried to escape through ventilation shafts, but the ladders required by safety codes were missing.
Luis Urzúa, the duty shift supervisor, gathered his men in a room called a "
refuge" and organized them and their resources. Teams were sent out to assess the vicinity.
Initial search
Rescuers attempted to bypass the rockfall at the main entryway through alternative passages but found each route blocked by fallen rock or threatened by ongoing rock movement. After a second collapse on 7 August, rescuers were forced to use heavy machinery while trying to gain access via a ventilation shaft.
[Ross Lydal]
"Tears of joy as Chile miners complete their great escape"
London Evening Standard, 13 October 2010 Concerns that additional attempts to pursue this route would cause further geological movement halted attempts to reach the trapped miners through previously existing shafts, and other means to find the men were sought.
The accident happened soon after sharp criticism of the government's handling of the
Chilean earthquake and tsunami. Chile's President,
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.
The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...
, cut short an official trip and returned to Chile in order to visit the mine.
Exploratory
boreholes
A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petrol ...
about in diameter were drilled in an attempt to find the miners.
["After 17 days, trapped Chilean miners send note they're alive"]
, CNN, 22 August 2010 Out-of-date mine shaft maps complicated rescue efforts and several boreholes drifted off-target
due to the extreme drilling depth and the extremely hard rock.
On 19 August one of the probes reached a space where the miners were believed to be trapped but found no signs of life.
On 22 August the eighth borehole broke through
[Brian McCullough (14 October 2010)]
"Chesco company proud to help with Chilean miner rescue"
, ''The Mercury'', Pennsylvania. at a depth of , at a ramp near the shelter where the miners had taken refuge. For days the miners had heard drills approaching and had prepared notes, which they attached to the tip of the drill with insulation tape when it poked into their space. They also tapped on the drill before it was withdrawn, and these taps could be heard on the surface. When the drill was withdrawn a note was attached to it: (English: "All 33 of us are fine in the shelter"). The words became the motto of the miners' survival and the rescue effort, and appeared on websites, banners and T-shirts.
Hours later, video cameras sent down the borehole captured the first grainy, black-and-white, silent images of the miners.
Survival
The trapped miners' emergency shelter had an area of with two long benches,
but ventilation problems had led them to move out into a tunnel.
In addition to the shelter, they had access to some of open tunnels in which they could move around and get some exercise or privacy.
Food supplies were severely limited and each of the men had lost an average of by the time they were discovered.
Although the emergency supplies stocked in the shelter were intended to last only two or three days, through careful rationing, the men made their meager resources last for two weeks, only running out just before they were discovered.
After leaving the hospital, miner Mario Sepúlveda said "All 33 trapped miners, practicing a
one-man, one-vote democracy, worked together to maintain the mine, look for escape routes and keep up morale. We knew that if society broke down we would all be doomed. Each day a different person took a bad turn. Every time that happened, we worked as a team to try to keep the morale up." He also said that some of the older miners helped to support the younger men but all have taken an oath of silence not to reveal certain details of what happened, particularly during the early weeks of desperation.
["Freed Chile miner Mario Sepulveda reveals darkest days"]
''The Daily Telegraph'', London, 17 October 2010
Videos sent to the surface
Shortly after their discovery, 28 of the 33 miners appeared in a 40-minute video recorded using a mini-camera delivered by the government via ''palomas'' ("doves", referring to their role as carrier pigeons), 1.5-metre-long (5 ft) blue plastic capsules. The footage showed most of the men in good spirits and reasonably healthy, though they had all lost weight.
[Alexei Barrionnuevo (27 August 2010)]
''The New York Times''.
The men appeared mainly bare chested and bearded. They were all covered with a sheen of sweat resulting from the high heat and humidity of the mine at that depth. Several of the miners looked very thin and some were camera-shy. The host, Sepúlveda, avoided specifics about the health of the men and used the vague term "complicated" to refer to their situation. He did however work to maintain an upbeat attitude and insisted that things were looking brighter for the trapped men.
[ The video generally portrays a positive, light atmosphere despite the grim circumstances.][
]
Leadership
"It's been a bit of a long shift", foreman Luis Urzúa joked. A man whose level-headedness and gentle humor is credited with helping keep the miners under his charge focused on survival during their 70-day underground ordeal, Urzúa kept his cool in his first audio contact with officials on the surface. He glossed over the hunger and despair he and his men felt, saying, "We're fine, waiting for you to rescue us."[Jude Webber and John Paul Rathbone (15 October 2010)]
''Financial Times'', London,[Chilean mine foreman works heroically to keep hope alive]
Taipei Times, China, Jonathan Franklin, 7 September 2010[Alexei Barrionuevo (31 August 2010)]
"Forging bonds to survive below Earth's surface"
''Herald-Tribune'', US,
Urzúa credited majority decision-making for the trapped men's good '' esprit de corps'' and dedication to their common goal. "You just have to speak the truth and believe in democracy", he said. "Everything was voted on; we were 33 men, so 16 plus one was a majority."[
54-year-old Urzúa was the last man out after 70 long days trapped below the Atacama desert. Following the collapse of the mine on 5 August, he had dispatched men to find out what had happened and see if escape was possible, but they could not find an exit route. "We were trying to find out what we could do and what we could not", said Urzúa. "Then we had to figure out the food." Urzúa tried to instill a philosophical acceptance of fate so they could accept their situation and move on to embrace the essential tasks of survival.][
]
Key members of the trapped group
* Luis Urzúa (54), the shift foreman who immediately recognized the gravity of the situation and the difficulty of any rescue attempt. He gathered the men in a secure "refuge" then organized them and their meager resources to cope with a long-term survival situation. Just after the incident, he led three men to scout the tunnel. After confirming the situation, he made detailed maps of the area to aid the rescue effort. He directed the underground aspects of the rescue operation and coordinated closely with engineers on the surface over the teleconference links.[
][
* Florencio Ávalos (31), second in command of the group, assisted Urzúa in organizing the men. Because of his experience, physical fitness and emotional stability, he was selected as the first miner to ride the rescue capsule to the surface in case of complications during the 15-minute ascent in the cramped shaft. Naturally shy, he served as the camera operator for videos sent up to the miners’ families. He was trapped along with his younger brother Renan.][
* Yonni Barrios (50), became the medic of the trapped miners due to his six months of training he took to care for his elderly mother. He served the group by monitoring their health and providing detailed medical reports to the team of doctors on the surface. His fellow miners jokingly referred to him as " Dr. House", an American TV medical drama character.]
* Mario Gómez (63), the eldest miner, became the religious leader of the group, organizing a chapel with a shrine containing statues of saints as well as aiding counseling efforts by psychologists on the surface.[
* José Henríquez (54), a preacher and a miner for 33 years, served as the miners' pastor and organized daily prayers.][
* Mario Sepúlveda (40), served as the energetic host of the miner's video journals that were sent to the surface to reassure the world that they were doing well. The local media dubbed him "Super ]Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...
" after the ''Super Mario Bros.
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'' video game for his energy, wit and humor.[
* Ariel Ticona (29), served as the group's communications specialist, installing and maintaining the underground portion of the telephone and ]videoconferencing
Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio and video signals by people in different locations for real time communication.McGraw-Hill Concise Ency ...
systems sent down by the surface team.[
]
Health of the trapped miners
On 23 August, the first voice contact was made with the miners. Doctors reported that the miners had been provided with a 5% glucose solution and a drug to prevent stomach ulcers caused by food deprivation. Material was sent down the mine in ''palomas'', which took an hour to reach the miners. Delivery of solid food began a few days later. Relatives were permitted to write letters, but were asked to keep them optimistic.
Out of concern for their morale, rescuers were reluctant to tell the miners that in the worst-case scenario, the rescue might take months, with an eventual extraction date close to Christmas. However on 25 August the trapped men were fully briefed on the projected timeline for their rescue and the complexity of the plans involved. The mining minister later reported that the men took the potentially negative news very well.
Rescue workers and consultants described the miners as a very disciplined group. Psychologists and doctors worked alongside the rescue teams to ensure the miners were kept busy and mentally focused. The men below ground confirmed their ability to contribute to the rescue operation, saying "There are a large number of professionals who are going to help in the rescue efforts from down here." Psychologists believed that the miners should have a role in their own destiny as it was important to maintain motivation and optimism.
Sanitation became an important issue in the hot, humid environment underground, and the miners took steps to maintain hygiene throughout their ordeal.[Jonathan Frankli]
Chilean miners: A typical day in the life of a subterranean miner
The Guardian, 9 September 2010
Environmental and safety issues were also a primary concern.
Chilean Health Minister Jaime Mañalich stated, "The situation is very similar to the one experienced by astronauts who spend months on end in the International Space Station." On 31 August, a team from NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
in the United States arrived in Chile to provide assistance. The team included two physicians, one psychologist, and an engineer.
After the rescue, Rodrigo Figueroa, chief of the Trauma Stress and Disaster unit of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...
, said there were serious shortcomings in the censorship of letters to and from miners' relatives above ground and in the monitoring of activities they could undertake, as being underground had suddenly turned them back into "babies." Nevertheless, the natural strength of "the 33" kept them alive, and their natural organization into teams as a response to disaster was also part of the innate human response to threat. Figueroa went on to say that as the miners' sound minds had seen them through, they would continue to be tested as they resumed life above ground.[Kara Frantzich and Ricardo Pommer]
"Miners' Rescue In Chile: An Inspiring Note: We're OK, All 33"
''The Santiago Times''.
Religious aspects
The trapped miners, most of whom were Roman Catholic, asked for religious items, including Bibles, crucifixes, rosaries
The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...
, and statues of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
and other saints to be sent down to them. After Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
sent each man a rosary, these were brought to the mine by the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa
Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (; born 5 September 1933) is a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Santiago from 1998 to 2010. He has been a cardinal since 2001 and was a member of Pope Francis' Council of Cardin ...
in person. After three weeks in the mine, one man who had been civilly married to his wife 25 years earlier asked her to enter into a sacramental marriage.
The men set up a makeshift chapel in the mine, and Mario Gómez, the eldest miner, spiritually counseled his companions and led daily prayers.[
Among the miners, a number attributed religious significance to events. Mario Sepúlveda said, "I was with God, and with the Devil – and God took me."][ Mónica Araya, the wife of the first man rescued, Florencio Ávalos, noted: "We are really religious, both my husband and I, so God was always present. It is a miracle, this rescue was so difficult, it's a grand miracle."
Both government representatives and the Chilean public have repeatedly credited Divine Providence with keeping the miners alive while the Chilean public viewed their subsequent rescue as a miracle.][Pappas, Stephanie]
How 69 Days underground affects spirituality
MSNBC, 14 October 2010 Chile's president Sebastián Piñera stated, "When the first miner emerges safe and sound, I hope all the bells of all the churches of Chile ring out forcefully, with joy and hope. Faith has moved mountains."[ When Esteban Rojas stepped out of the rescue capsule, he immediately knelt on the ground with his hands together in prayer then raised his arms above him in adoration.][Leichman, Aaron J.]
Prayers Persist as World Witnesses Rescue of Chilean Miners
The Christian Post, 13 October 2010 His wife then wrapped a tapestry bearing the image of The Virgin Mary around him as they hugged and cried.[
]
Tent city and the families
(Camp Hope) was a tent city
A tent city is a temporary housing facility made using tents or other temporary structures.
State governments or military organizations set up tent cities to house evacuees, refugees, or soldiers. UNICEF's Supply Division supplies expandable te ...
that sprang up in the desert as word of the mine's collapse spread. At first, relatives gathered at the mine entrance and slept in cars as they waited and prayed for word on the rescue operation's progress. As days turned into weeks, friends brought them tents and other camping supplies to provide shelter from the harsh desert climate. The encampment grew with the arrival of more friends and relatives, additional rescue and construction workers, and members of the media. Government ministers held regular briefings for the families and journalists at the camp. "We're not going to abandon this camp until we go out with the last miner left", said María Segovia, "There are 33 of them, and one is my brother".
Many members of the miners' families at Camp Hope were devout Catholics who prayed almost constantly for the men. As they waited, worried families erected memorials to the trapped men, lit candles and prayed. On a nearby hill overlooking the mine, the families placed 32 Chilean and one Bolivian flag to represent their stranded men. Small shrines were erected at the foot of each flag and amongst the tents, they placed pictures of the miners, religious icons and statues of the Virgin Mary and patron saints.
María Segovia, the elder sister of drill operator Darío Segovia, became known as (the Mayoress) for her organizational skills and outspokenness. As the families became more organized, the government took steps to provide some comforts, eventually providing a more private area for the relatives to avoid constant interrogation by the energetic press corps. Infrastructure such as a kitchen, canteen area, sanitary facilities and security were later added. Bulletin boards sprouted up and the local government established shuttle bus stops. Over time a school house and children's play zones were built while volunteers worked to help feed the families. Clowns entertained the children and organizations provided emotional and spiritual comfort to the waiting families. Police and soldiers were brought in from Santiago to help maintain order and security with some patrolling the desert perimeter on horseback. In many respects the camp gradually grew into a small city.
Rescue plans
Exploratory boreholes were used to locate the trapped miners, with several of these subsequently used to supply the men. The Chilean government developed a comprehensive rescue plan modeled on the successful 2002 US Quecreek Mine rescue, itself based on the 1963 German Wunder von Lengede
On 7 November 1963, 11 West German miners were rescued from a collapsed mine after surviving for 14 days, an event that later became known as the Wunder von Lengede ("miracle of Lengede").
On 24 October 1963, the Lengede-Broistedt Iron Mine nea ...
rescue operation. Both previous rescues had used a "rescue pod" or capsule to winch trapped miners to the surface one by one. Chilean rescue crews planned to use at least three drilling technologies to create bore holes wide enough to raise the miners in custom-designed rescue pods as quickly as possible. "The mine is old and there is concern of further collapses", Henry Laas, managing director of Murray & Roberts Cementation, one of the companies involved in the rescue operation, said, "The rescue methodology therefore has to be carefully designed and implemented."[Dominique Farrell and Dustin Zarnikow]
"Miners's Recue In Chile: An Unprecendent Rescue Begins"
''The Santiago Times''.
Drilling plans
Three large escape boreholes were drilled concurrently using several types of equipment provided by multiple international corporations and based on three different access strategies. When the first (and only) escape shaft reached the miners, the three plans in operation were:
# Plan A, the Strata 950 (702 meter target depth at 90°)
# Plan B, the Schramm T130XD (638 meter target depth at 82°) was the first to reach the miners
# Plan C, a RIG-421 drill (597 meter target depth at 85°)
Plan A
Plan A used an Australian built Strata 950 model raise borer[Model 950 Strata Raisebore Machine – Drill Rig Specifications]
PDF , RUC Cementation Mining Contractors, (English) type drilling rig
A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill wa ...
often used to create circular shafts between two levels of a mine without using explosives. Provided by South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
n mining company Murray & Roberts
Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd. is a South African-based engineering and mining contractor. It is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange. The Group delivers its capabilities into three global primary market sectors the resources, industrial, ene ...
, the drill had recently finished creating a shaft for Codelco's Andina copper mine in Chile and was immediately transferred to the San José Mine. Since it weighed , the drill had to be shipped in pieces on a large truck convoy. The Strata 950 was the first of the three drills to begin boring an escape shaft. If the pilot hole had been completed, further drilling would have caused rock debris to fall down the hole, requiring the miners to remove several tons of debris.[Adrian Brown (26 August 2010)]
"Rescuers face tough challenge to save Chile miners"
BBC News.
Plan B
This drill team was the first to reach the trapped miners with an escape shaft. Plan B involved a Schramm Inc. T130XD air core drill owned by Geotec S.A. (a Chilean-American joint venture drilling company) that was chosen by Drillers Supply SA (the general contractor of Plan B) to widen one of the three 14 centimetre (5.5 in) boreholes that were already keeping the miners supplied with palomas. Normally, the drills are used to drill top holes for the oil and gas industry and for mineral exploration and water wells. This system employed Chilean Drillers Supply SA (DSI) personnel, Mijali Proestakis G.M. and Partner, Igor Proestakis Tech Mgr, Greg Hall C.E.O. (who joined his team on site for the last eight days of drilling) and their 18-centimetre (7 in) drill pipe air core drill, a team of American drillers from Layne Christensen Company
Layne Christensen Company is a U.S.-based global water management, construction and drilling company. The company has two divisions, which are Water Resources-Mineral Services and Inline.
Water management
Construction
Layne Christensen is invol ...
and specialized Down-The-Hole drilling hammers from Center Rock, Inc., of Berlin, Pennsylvania. Center Rock's president and personnel from DSI Chile were present on-site for the 33 days of drilling. While the Schramm rig, built by privately held Schramm, Inc. of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was already on the ground in Chile at the time of the mine collapse, additional drilling equipment was flown from the United States to Chile by United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...
. The percussion-technology hammer drill
A hammer drill, also known as a percussion drill or impact drill, is a power tool used chiefly for drilling in hard materials. It is a type of rotary drill with an impact mechanism that generates a hammering motion. The percussive mechanism prov ...
can drill at more than a day by using four hammers instead of one.[Schramm Airdrill T130XD Rig Specifications PDF]
, Schramm Inc.
The Schramm T-130 was directed to bore toward the workshop, a space that was accessible by the miners. The T-130 became operational on 5 September and worked in three stages. First, it needed to enlarge the 14-centimetre (5.5 in) hole to a 30-centimetre (12 in) hole. It then needed to drill the 30-centimetre (12 in) hole into a 71 centimetre (28 in) diameter hole. "If we tried to drill from a 14-centimetre (5.5 in) hole to a 71-centimetre (28 in) hole, the torque would be too high and it would ... put the drill bits under too much pressure," said Schramm, Inc. Latin American Regional Manager, Claudio Soto. However by reusing the same hole, there was still added pressure on the drill. Delays occurred because of issues with the neck of the drills caused by the angle of the drilling. Rescuers were unable to drill vertically since that would require placing the heavy rig on the unstable ground where the cave-in had happened, and the rescuers also had to avoid drilling into the production tunnels above the shelter. Soto added, during the rescue, "It's a difficult hole. It's curved and deep. The hard rock has proven to be abrasive and has worn out the steel of the drill."
Plan C
Plan C involved a Canadian-made RIG-421 oil drilling rig operated by Calgary-based Precision Drilling Corporation. It was the last drill to be added to the rescue process and went into operation on 19 September.[ The rig, normally used for oil and gas well drilling, could theoretically drill a wide enough escape shaft in a single pass without a pilot hole. RIG-421 is a tall Diesel-Electric Triple, which needed 40 truckloads to bring its components from ]Iquique
Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...
, Chile, to Copiapó. Chosen for the rescue operation because it can drill large holes deep into the ground and is faster than mining drills,[Precision Drilling Corpora. RIG 421 Specifications PDF]
, Precision Drilling this plan suffered major setbacks due to the difficulty of aiming a large drill at such a small target. Furthermore, the hardness of the rock caused the drill bit to wander from its intended course and it then needed to be removed, resized and repositioned, slowing drilling progress. Many family members of the miners initially had high hopes for this rig, but it was forced to reduce its drill size and so lagged behind the other attempts.[
]
Drilling results
At 08:05 CLDT on 9 October 2010, Plan B's Schramm T130XD was the first to reach the trapped miners. By 8 October, the Plan A Strata 950's pilot hole had reached only of the required depth (), and had not yet started widening its shaft. Plan C's RIG-421, the only machine at the site able to drill a wide enough escape shaft without a pilot hole, reached ().
The rescue operation was an international effort that involved not only technology, but the cooperation and resources of companies and individuals from around the world, including Latin America, South Africa, Australia, the United States and Canada. NASA specialists helped develop a sophisticated health agenda. Though international participation was critical to success, overall, it was a Chilean-led team effort. As one NASA specialist said during a visit early on in the rescue: "The Chileans are basically writing the book."[
]
Extraction plans
Fénix rescue capsule
While the three drilling operations progressed, technicians worked on building the rescue capsules that would eventually carry the miners to safety.[ Several media organizations produced illustrations of the capsules' basic design.][Images and description of the ''Fénix 2'']
BBC News Online Graphic, 12 October 2010
The steel rescue capsules, dubbed '' Fénix'' (English: Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
) were constructed by the Chilean shipbuilding company Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada (ASMAR) with design input from NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
. The navy incorporated most of NASA's suggestions and produced three rescue pods: ''Fénix'' 1, 2 and 3, all enhanced versions of the Dahlbusch Bomb used for mine rescue. ''Fénix'' 1 was presented to journalists and the miners' relatives for their assessment.
The eventual capsule used to rescue the 33 men was the ''Fénix 2'', a device in diameter, narrow enough to avoid hitting the sides of the tunnel. It had retractable wheels to allow for a smoother ride to the surface, an oxygen supply, lighting, video and voice communications, a reinforced roof to protect against rock falls, and an escape hatch with a safety device to allow the passenger to lower himself back down if the capsule became stuck.
Preparations for extraction
Although drilling finished on 9 October 2010, Laurence Golborne
Laurence Nelson Golborne Riveros (born Lorence Nelson Golborne Riveros Santiago, July 11, 1961) is a Chilean engineer and entrepreneur. He was minister of public works until November 7, 2012, when he announced his decision to run for President o ...
, Chilean Minister of Mining, announced that the rescue operation was not expected to begin before 12 October due to the complex preparatory work required on both the escape shaft and the extraction system site. These tasks included a borehole inspection to determine how much of the shaft needed casing to prevent rockfalls from jamming the escape capsule. Depending on the shaft casing requirement, installation of the requisite steel pipes could take up to 96 hours. After that, a large concrete platform for the winching rig to raise and lower the capsule had to be poured while the winching rig required assembly. Finally, thorough testing of the capsule and winching system together was required.
Golborne also indicated he expected only the first of the shaft to be cased, a task that could be performed in only 10 hours. In the end, only the first were deemed to require casing. Assembly of a safe lifting system took an additional 48 hours.
Shortly before the extraction phase began, Golborne told reporters that rescuers estimated it would take about an hour to bring each miner to the surface. He therefore expected the lifting phase of the rescue operation to take up to 48 hours.
Rescue operation ''San Lorenzo''
The rescue effort to retrieve the miners began on Tuesday, 12 October at 19:00 CLT. Dubbed (Operation St. Lawrence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...
) after the patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of miners,[ a three-hour initial delay ensued while final safety tests were carried out. At 23:18 CLT, the first rescuer, Manuel González, an experienced rescue expert and employee of Codelco, was lowered into the mine. During the 18-minute descent, the waiting families and surface rescue team members sang the , Chile's national anthem. González arrived in the collapsed mine and made contact with the miners at 23:36.
]
Extraction
Although Chilean officials played down the risks of the rescue, the miners still needed to be alert during the ascent in case of problems. As a result, and according to the rescue plan, the first four men to be brought up the narrow shaft were those "deemed the fittest of body and mind". Thereafter they would be best placed to inform the rescue team about conditions on the journey and report on the remaining miners. Once the four men had surfaced, the rescues proceeded in order of health, with the least healthy brought up from the mine first.
Procedure
Six hours before the rescue, each miner switched to a liquid diet rich in sugars, minerals, and potassium. Each took an aspirin to help avert blood clots, and wore a girdle to stabilize blood pressure. The miners also received moisture-resistant coveralls["Amigos, Welcome Back from Hell – Tears and cheers greet Chilean miners rescued after 68 days"](_blank)
''New York Post'', 13 October 2010, page 4. and sunglasses to protect against the sudden exposure to sunlight. The capsule included oxygen masks, heart monitors, and video cameras.[
After a miner was strapped into the wide capsule, it ascended about , taking 9 to 18 minutes to reach the surface. Piñera was present for each arrival during the 24-hour rescue.
After an alertness check a miner would be taken by stretcher to a ]field hospital
A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...
for initial evaluation; none needed immediate treatment. Later they were taken by helicopter to Copiapó Hospital, away, for 24 to 48 hours of observation.
Rescue
The original plan called for two rescue workers to descend into the mine before bringing the first miner to the surface. However, to avoid delay, rescuers decided to bring a miner to the surface in the returning capsule that had taken González down. An "empty" trial run had taken place the previous day, with the capsule stopping just before the end of the shaft.
After a further safety check, 15 minutes later miner Florencio Ávalos began his ascent from the mine. TV cameras both inside the mine and on the surface captured the event and broadcast it worldwide. Urzúa was the last to ascend.
Each transit of the capsule, whether up or down, was projected to take 15 minutes, giving a total time of 33 hours for the rescue operation. In practice, after the capsule's first few transits, it became apparent that the trip might be shorter than the projected 15 minutes and each rescue cycle should take less than 1 hour. As the eighteenth miner was brought to the surface, Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne stated "We have advanced at a faster time than we originally planned. I foresee we might conclude the whole operation before tonight."
After stepping free from the rescuers and greeting his son, Urzúa embraced Piñera saying, "I've delivered to you this shift of workers, as we agreed I would." The president replied, "I gladly receive your shift, because you completed your duty, leaving last like a good captain." Piñera went on to say "You are not the same after this, and Chile won't be the same either."[Tim Padgett (14 October 2010)]
"How the Miners Have Won Respect for Chile's Workers"
''Time''.
A large Chilean flag that had hung in the mine chamber during the rescue was brought up by Luis Urzúa. Once all the miners had been extracted, the rescuers in the mine chamber displayed a banner reading ("Mission accomplished Chile"). Manuel González was the first rescuer down and the last up, spending 25 hours 14 minutes in the mine. Rescuers needing to sleep did so in the mine to avoid tying up the capsule on rescue-delaying journeys to the surface. When the last rescuer surfaced, Piñera covered the top of the rescue shaft with a metal lid. Altogether, ''Fénix 2'' made 39 round trips, traveling a total distance of about .
Order of miners and rescuers
Before the rescue, the trapped miners were divided into three groups to determine their exit order. From first to last these were: (skilled), (weak) and (strong). This grouping was based on the theory that the first men to exit should be those more skilled and in the best physical condition, as they would be better equipped to escape unaided in the event of a capsule malfunction or shaft collapse. They were also thought more able to communicate clearly any other problems to the surface rescue team. The second group included miners with medical problems, older men and those with psychological issues. The final group comprised the most mentally tough, as they had to be able to endure the anxiety of the wait; in the words of Minister Mañalich "they don't care to stay another 24 hours inside the mine".
The leaving order was as shown below:
Note: Early in the disaster, the Chilean newspaper ''El Mercurio
''El Mercurio'' (known online as ''El Mercurio On-Line'', ''EMOL'') is a Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. Its Santiago edition is considered the country's newspaper of record and it is considered the oldest daily in ...
'' published a widely circulated, but incorrect, early list of the miners' names with two errors: it omitted Esteban Rojas and Claudio Acuña and wrongly included the names of Roberto López Bordones and William Órdenes. The list above is correct and up to date according to the Ministry of Mining website.["¿Quiénes son los 33 mineros? (Who are the 33 Miners?)"]
(Spanish) (THIS LIST IS CORRECT), Chilean Ministry of Mining Official Website, Chile, 12 October 2010.
Notes:
# The extraction times for the rescuers are correct but may be out of order and not listed next to the actual corresponding rescue worker.
# "Down trip no." is the sequence number of the capsule journey that he was sent down on.
Timeline of events
This is a general chronology
Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , ''-logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. I ...
of the events, from the beginning:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Reaction to the rescue
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.
The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...
and First Lady Cecilia Morel
María Cecilia Morel Montes (born 14 January 1954) is the wife of the former President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, and as such is the former First Lady of Chile. Morel was also the Director of the Sociocultural Area of the Presidency during bot ...
were present during the rescue. Bolivian President
The president of Bolivia ( es, Presidente de Bolivia), officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia ( es, Presidente del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia), is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the c ...
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to c ...
was also scheduled to be there but did not arrive in time to see the rescue of the trapped Bolivian miner, Carlos Mamani. Morales visited Mamani at a hospital along with Piñera later in the day. A number of foreign leaders contacted Piñera to express solidarity and pass on congratulations to Chile while rescue efforts were underway. They included the Presidents of Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Colombia, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,["Historic rescue completed"]
, South African Government, 14 October 2010 and Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, as well as the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, (who also wrote personally to the Chilean president and the Clare-based designers and manufacturers of the rescue drill). Other foreign leaders including Mexican President
The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the C ...
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 ...
["Celebrations erupt across Chile as first men emerge from mine"]
New Kerala, 13 October 2010 and US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
[ praised the rescue efforts and passed on their hopes and prayers to the miners and their families. ]Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
left a video message in Spanish praying for the success of the rescue operation.
After the successful rescue, Piñera gave a speech on location in which he praised Chile, saying that he was "proud to be the president of all Chileans." He invoked Chile's recently passed Bicentennial __NOTOC__
A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to:
Europe
*French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
celebrations and said that the miners were rescued with "unity, hope and faith." He thanked Hugo Chávez and Morales, amongst others, for their calls of support and solidarity. He also said that those responsible for the collapse of the mine would be punished, and that there would be a "new deal" for the workers.[Rory Carrol]
When the miners' leader met the president, two sides of Chile embraced
The Guardian, 17 October 2010
(Spanish), Chilean Presidential Web Site, Speech Extracts, 13 October 2010
Miners post-rescue
All but two of the men went home within 48 hours of their rescue, and by 19 October all had left the hospital.[Fiona Govan and Aislinn Laing (15 October 2010)]
''The Daily Telegraph'', London.[.]
Doctors felt the men had coped unexpectedly well physically with their time underground. Piñera even challenged the men to a friendly football game and invited them to visit to the presidential palace and to the opening of a transcontinental highway.
Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at the New York University Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...
, said that lack of sunlight could cause problems with muscles, bones and other organs. Jane Aubin, scientific director of the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; french: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the M ...
, said the miners would have to be monitored closely: "They haven't been as physically active as you would want hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the g ...
to be, so they have undoubtedly experienced some muscle loss. ... Probably after that extended period of time, in both a confined space and in relative darkness, they've also probably experienced some bone loss."
Officials considered canceling plans for a Thanksgiving Mass for the men and their families at Camp Hope on 17 October over fears that a premature return to the site could be damaging. "It's not a good idea that they go back to the mine so soon", said psychologist Iturra. Jorge Díaz, head of the miners' medical team at Copiapó regional hospital, said: "We have a group of workers who are absolutely normal people, they weren't selected from a group of applicants to be astronauts, nor were they people who underwent rigorous tests, therefore we don't know when the post-traumatic stress syndrome
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
can appear."
Activities
On Sunday, 17 October 2010, six of the 33 rescued miners attended a multi-denominational memorial Mass led by an evangelical pastor and a Roman Catholic priest at (Camp Hope) where anxious relatives had awaited the men's return. Some of the rescuers who helped bring the miners to the surface also attended. Reporters and cameras mobbed the miners, prompting the police to intervene to protect them. Omar Reygadas' family was swarmed by the media after they left the service, and his 2-year-old great-granddaughter started crying when pushed by the crowd. As Reygadas picked her up, the cameras zoomed in. Reygadas stayed calm but offered his only answer in response to their questions: "I've had nightmares these days", Reygadas said from inside a small tent while reporters jockeyed for position, "but the worst nightmare is all of you."
Based on their experience, the miners plan to start a foundation to help in the field of mine safety. Yonni Barrios said: "We're thinking about creating a foundation to solve afetyproblems in the mining industry. With this, with the experience that we had had, God help us, we should be able to solve these problems." Juan Illanes told El Mercurio: "We have to decide how to direct our project so this type of thing never happens again. It needs to be done, but these things don't happen quickly".
On 24 October 2010, the miners attended a reception hosted by Piñera at the presidential palace in the capital, Santiago, and were awarded medals celebrating Chile's independence bicentennial. Outside, the men posed for photographs next to the Fénix rescue capsule that had winched them to the surface, now installed in the main square in Santiago. Afterwards, at the National Stadium, the freed miners played a football match against a team that included Piñera; Laurence Golborne, the mining minister; and Jaime Manalich, the health minister. Team (Hope), led by Franklin Lobos, all wore the number "33", but lost 3–2 to the government team.[Fiona Govan (25 October 2010)]
"Chile's Saved Miners Play Football Match Against Their Rescuers"
''The Daily Telegraph'', London.
In November 2010, miners visited Los Angeles, appearing in a taping of CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
"Heroes." On 13 December 2010, 26 of the rescued miners, including Franklin Lobos, went on invitation to a Manchester United training session at Carrington, Greater Manchester
Carrington is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Cheshire, the village is west of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, and includes several industrial sites.
H ...
in England. In February 2011, 31 of the 33 miners were hosted by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism for an eight-day pilgrimage of Christian and Jewish holy sites.
Legacy and aftermath
Political
Immediately following the San José mine collapse, Piñera dismissed top officials from the '' Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería de Chile'' (SERNAGEOMIN), Chile's mining regulatory agency and vowed to undertake a major overhaul of the department in light of the accident. In the days following the collapse, eighteen mines were shut down and a further 300 put under threat of possible closure.
On 25 October 2010, ahead of schedule, Piñera received a preliminary report by the Commission on Work Safety established in response to the incident. The report was a direct result of the Copiapó accident and contained 30 proposals ranging from improvements in hygiene to better coordination between local regulatory authorities. Although the commission had set 22 November 2010 as the date to deliver its final report, it reported that job safety inspections in Santiago and regions throughout Chile had allowed them to obtain a clear picture of the situation earlier than anticipated. In total, the commission held 204 hearings and reviewed 119 suggestions that came from online input.[
Throughout the incident, Piñera stressed that cost was of no object with regard to rescuing the miners. The operation was expensive with estimates surpassing US$20 million, excluding expenses in building, maintaining and securing (Camp Hope). These costs exceed the total business debt of the mine's owner, the San Esteban Mining Company, which currently stands at around US$19 million. The state mining company Codelco contributed about 75% to rescue costs with private companies donating services worth more than US$5 million.][Dominique Farrell (13 October 2010)]
"Final Cost For Chile Mine Rescue Is Tallied"
''Santiago Times'' (English).
The French credit rating agency Coface declared that the dramatic mining rescue would have a positive impact on Chile's economic reputation. "It provides to international investors an image of a country where you can do safe icbusiness", Coface's UK managing director, Xavier Denecker, said. "It gives a good impression in terms of technology, solidarity and efficiency." Coface rates countries according to the probability of private sector companies being successful. Chile holds its highest rating in South America: A2. The UK, in comparison, is rated at A3.[Andrew Clark (17 October 2010)]
"Mining rescue lifts Chile's credit rating up into the light"
''The Guardian'', London.
Legal
Following the accident, a lawsuit was filed against the San Esteban Mining Company by relatives of those trapped, while a judge froze US$2 million of its assets. A lawyer for several of the miners' families described this as a refutation of the company's claims of "not having even enough money to pay salaries".
On 21 October, San Esteban Mining Company Operations Chief Carlos Pinilla and mine manager Pedro Simunovic issued a signed public statement insisting that no company official "had the slightest indication that a catastrophe could occur." Miner Jorge Gallardo asserted that there was no way the owners could have been unaware of the situation since he recorded everything and his daily safety reports were signed by Pinilla in person. Rescued miner Victor Zamora commented "What made me sad was that people were dying because the company did not want to have something safer and only thought about money".[Dominique Farrell (26 October 2010)]
"Chile's Commission On Work Safety Delivers Preliminary Report To President Sebastián Piñera"
''Santiago Times'' (English).
Social
Chilean writer and former miner Hernán Rivera Letelier
Hernán Rivera Letelier (born 11 July 1950 in Talca, Chile) is a Chilean novelist. Until the age of 11 he lived in the Algorta saltpeter mining town, in the north of Chile. When it was closed down, he and his family moved to Antofagasta, where h ...
wrote an article for the Spanish newspaper '' El País'' offering advice to the miners: "I hope that the avalanche of lights and cameras and flashes that is rushing towards you is a light one. It's true that you've survived a long season in hell, but, when all's said and done, it was a hell you knew. What's heading your way, now, comrades, is a hell that you have not experienced at all: the hell of the show, the alienating hell of TV sets. I've only got one thing to say to you, my friends: grab hold of your family. Don't let them go, don't let them out of your sight, don't waste them. Hold on to them as you hung on to the capsule that brought you out. It's the only way to survive this media deluge that's raining down on you."[Rory Carroll (18 October 2010)]
"How the media in Chile helped focus the eyes of the world on the miners"
''The Guardian'' (UK).
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' UK newspaper reported that the miners have hired an accountant to ensure that any income from their new celebrity status is fairly divided, including money from expected book and film deals. The men have agreed to "speak as one" when they discuss their experiences. While still trapped, they appointed one of their group as official biographer and another their poet.[Aislinn Laing (15 October 2010)]
"Chile miners will 'speak as one
''The Daily Telegraph'', London.
The first TV documentary was aired by '' Nova'' on the US Public Broadcasting System
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
on 26 October 2010.[Emergency Mine Rescue: Engineers and NASA scientists aid an all-out effort to save 32 Chilean miners trapped nearly half a mile underground]
''NOVA'' (PBS), Aired 26 October 2010
Monument
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera has suggested turning Camp Hope into a memorial or museum in honor of the men.[
The ''Fénix 2'' capsule used in ''Operación San Lorenzo'' has been placed in the ]Plaza de la Constitución
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
, in front of Chile's presidential palace in Santiago, Chile. Currently, one of the backup capsules is in Copiapó and the other was sent to China for display in Chile's exhibit at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the tr ...
. Discussions are under way for a permanent display of the capsule and possibly a museum. , potential locations include Copiapó
Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region.
Copiapó lies about 800 km nort ...
, the city closest to the accident site, and Talcahuano
Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.
Geo ...
, to the south, where the capsules were built at a Chilean navy workshop.["Chile mine rescue: towns fight over Phoenix 2 capsule"]
Daily Telegraph, London, 18 October 2010 The ''Fénix 1'' capsule was a featured display at the March 2011 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, where Laurence Golborne and the rescue team were honored. Since 3 August 2011, the ''Fénix 2'' capsule is displayed at the Atacama Regional Museum in Copiapó
Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region.
Copiapó lies about 800 km nort ...
.
Books
While still trapped in the mine, the 33 miners chose to collectively contract with a single author to write an official history so that none of the 33 could individually profit from the experiences of others. The miners chose Héctor Tobar
Héctor Tobar (born 1963, Los Angeles) is a Los Angeles author and journalist, whose work examines the evolving and interdependent relationship between Latin America and the United States.
Life
Tobar is the son of Guatemalan immigrants. His long ...
, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer at the ''Los Angeles Times''. Tobar had exclusive access to the miners and in October 2014 published an official account titled ''Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free''. Tobar described the previous books published on the topic as "quick and dirty" with "almost no cooperation from the miners."[ These books include ''Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert'' (August 2011) by Marc Aronson; ''Buried Alive!: How 33 Miners Survived 69 Days Deep Under the Chilean Desert'' (2012) by Elaine Scott; ''33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners'' (October 2011) by Jonathan Franklin.][Martin Fletcher and Laura Dixon (22 October 2010)]
"Chilean miner Jose Ricardo Ojeda Vidal copyrights 'los 33
''The Australian''.
Film
A film titled ''The 33'' based on the events of the disaster is directed by Patricia Riggen
Patricia Riggen (born June 2, 1970) is a Mexican film director. She is best known for directing the 2007 film ''Under the Same Moon'' and the 2011 Disney Channel original film '' Lemonade Mouth''.
Early life and career beginnings
Riggen was bor ...
and written by Mikko Alanne and Jose Rivera. Mike Medavoy
Morris Mike Medavoy (born January 21, 1941) is an American film producer and business executive. He is the co-founder of Orion Pictures (1978), former chairman of TriStar Pictures, former head of production for United Artists (1974–1978), and t ...
, producer of ''Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...
'', worked with the miners, their families, and those involved to put the film together. The movie stars Antonio Banderas as Mario "Super Mario" Sepulveda, the public face of video reports sent from underground about the miners' conditions. The actual Sepulveda expressed his enthusiasm and approval towards Banderas playing the role. Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro (; born 22 August 1975) is a Brazilian actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Persian King Xerxes in the movie ''300'' (2006) and its sequel '' 300: Rise of an Empire'' (2014). Other famous movies include ' ...
stars as Laurence Golborne
Laurence Nelson Golborne Riveros (born Lorence Nelson Golborne Riveros Santiago, July 11, 1961) is a Chilean engineer and entrepreneur. He was minister of public works until November 7, 2012, when he announced his decision to run for President o ...
, the Chilean Minister of Mining at the time, and American actor Bob Gunton
Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama '' The Shawshank Redemption'' ...
stars as Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.
The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...
, the President of Chile at the time. The film's plot mostly focuses on the disaster and its aftermath, during which rescue teams attempt to save the trapped miners over the course of three months. According to an interview with Patricia Riggen in 2015, the miners have never been compensated monetarily for their ordeal, and many of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...
.
See also
* 2006 Copiapó mining accident – resulted in two deaths.
* Shandong Qixia Gold Mine Explosion Accident – 22 Elecab miners were trapped and rescued in 2021.
* Floyd Collins
William Floyd Collins (July 20, 1887 – February 13, 1925) was an American cave explorer, principally in a region of Kentucky that houses hundreds of miles of interconnected caves, today a part of Mammoth Cave National Park, the longes ...
– a cave explorer who died after 14 days in 1925. The accident scene was a national media frenzy.
* Kathy Fiscus
Kathryn Anne Fiscus (August 21, 1945 – April 8, 1949) was a three-year-old girl who died after falling into a well in San Marino, California. The attempted rescue, broadcast live on KTLA, was a landmark event in American television history.
Bi ...
– a three-year-old Californian girl who died after falling down a well in 1949 and whose two-day rescue attempt was broadcast live on radio and national TV.
* Alfredo Rampi – fell down a well and died as a six-year-old in 1981 in Italy. The rescue attempt was broadcast live for 18 hours.
* Jessica McClure – a Texas toddler who survived being trapped in a well for over two days in 1987, while the rescue operation was televised live on CNN.
* Quecreek Mine rescue – a successful rescue operation of miners using a similar rescue capsule in Pennsylvania in 2002.
* Beaconsfield Mine collapse – two of three Australian miners were rescued in 2006 after two weeks underground.
* Chasnala mining disaster – incident in India where a flood entered into a coal mine.
* Tham Luang cave rescue
In June and July 2018, a junior association football team and their assistant coach were rescued from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand. Twelve members of the team, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old ass ...
– successful rescue involving a football team in Thailand.
* Julen Rosello – Spanish toddler who fell in 2019 in a well and died after a rescue attempt of 13 days.
* Rayan Oram
On 1 February 2022, five-year-old Moroccan boy Rayan Aourram (; ) fell into a dry well in Ighran village in Tamorot commune, Chefchaouen Province, Morocco.
Rescue attempts were delayed by the narrow well and fragile ground. A separate trench wa ...
– Moroccan child who fell into a well and died in 2022.
References
External links
Photos
High-Resolution, Aerial Image of Mine Site
(large image), DigiMapas, October 2010
Videos
* by Canal 13 UC de Chile. 9 October 2010.
Emergency Mine Rescue
NOVA Documentary, PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, 53 minutes, 26 October 2010
Miners Deep Inside Chilean Mine
CBS News, 3 minutes, 27 August 2010
Rescue Timeline (Plans with Animations)
CBS News, 4.5 minutes, 15 October 2010
Elation As Trapped Chile Miners Found Alive
Sky News, 1 minute, 23 August 2010
First of 33 Chilean Miners Rescued
CBS News, 1 minute, 12 October 2010
Final Chilean Miner Rescued
Fox News, 7 minutes, 14 October 2010
Miners on the Mend After Rescue
Reuters News, 2 minutes, 14 October 2010
Chilean Miners: 17 Days Buried Alive
BBC, 1 hour, 12 August 2011
Sobreviviendo la minería en Chile
TeleSUR, 23 minutes, 13 October 2010 with subtitling in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010 Copiapo Mining Accident
Mining disasters in Chile
Copiapó mining accident
Copiapo Mining Accident, 2010
Mining rescues
Labor in Chile
History of Atacama Region
Copiapó mining accident
2010 disasters in Chile