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N0KFQ > TODAY 13.10.14 16:13l 59 Lines 2754 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Oct 13
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Sent: 141013/1511Z 37989@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Oct 13, 2010:
Chilean miners are rescued after 69 days underground
On this day in 2010, the last of 33 miners trapped nearly half a
mile underground for more than two months at a caved-in mine in
northern Chile, are rescued. The miners survived longer than
anyone else trapped underground in recorded history.
The miners' ordeal began on August 5, 2010, when the San Jose
gold and copper mine where they were working, some 500 miles
north of the Chilean capital city of Santiago, collapsed. The 33
men moved to an underground emergency shelter area, where they
discovered just several days' worth of food rations. As their
situation grew more desperate over the next 17 days, the miners,
uncertain if anyone would find them, considered suicide and
cannibalism. Then, on August 22, a drill sent by rescuers broke
through to the area where the miners were located, and the men
sent back up a note saying, "We are fine in the refuge, the 33."
Food, water, letters, medicine and other supplies were soon
delivered to the miners via a narrow bore hole. Video cameras
were also sent down, making it possible for rescuers to see the
men and the hot, humid space in which they were entombed. As
engineering and mining experts from around the world collaborated
on the long, complex process of devising a way to bring the 33
men up to the surface, the miners maintained a system of jobs and
routines in order to keep up morale.
Rescuers eventually drilled and reinforced an escape shaft wide
enough to extract the men, one by one. (Employees of a
Pennsylvania-based drilling-tool company played a role in
drilling the rescue shaft.) On October 12, the first of the
miners was raised to the surface in a narrow, 13-foot-tall
capsule painted white, blue and red, the colors of the Chilean
flag. The approximately 2,000-foot ascent to the surface in the
capsule took around 15 minutes for each man.
The miners were greeted by a cheering crowd that included Chile's
president, Sebastian Pinera; media from around the world; and
friends and relatives, many of whom had been camped at the base
of the mine in the Atacama Desert for months. Millions of people
around the globe watched the rescue on live TV. Less than 24
hours after the operation began, all 33 of the miners, who ranged
in age from 19 to 63, had been safely rescued. Almost all the men
were in good health, and each of them sported dark glasses to
protect their eyes after being in a dimly lit space for so long.
The rescued miners were later honored with trips to a variety of
destinations, including England, Israel and Florida's Walt Disney
World, where a parade was held in their honor.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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