Hopes raised for miners but ordeal far from over
Source: Agencies |
August 25, 2010, Wednesday
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RESCUERS are lowering capsules containing rehydration tablets, glucose and oxygen down a long hole to 33 miners who surprised the world by staying alive while trapped 805 meters underground for two and a half weeks.
Raising hopes further on Monday, a second bore hole punched into the chamber where the miners are entombed and a third probe was nearing the spot, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne reported.
The hole that reached the miners on Sunday will continue to be used to lower supplies, the second will be for communication and the third will provide ventilation, Golborne said.
But their ordeal is far from over.
Above ground, doctors and psychological experts are debating how to keep them sane during the estimated four months it will take to dig a tunnel wide enough to get them out of the safety chamber 670 meters underground where they have been buried since August 5.
Through a newly installed communication system, the miners told authorities Monday afternoon that they had eaten canned tuna, milk and biscuits stored in the refuge after the disaster. They used a backhoe to dig for trapped water.
"They had two little spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk and a biscuit every 48 hours," said Sergio Aguilar, a physician on the rescue team.
Aguilar did not say how long those meager supplies lasted after the landslide that caused a tunnel to collapse inside the San Jose gold and copper mine about 853 kilometers north of Chile's capital, Santiago.
Officials released a portion of the recording of the dialogue, in which miners are heard singing Chile's national anthem.
In a dialogue earlier Monday, each man spoke and reported feeling hungry but well, except for one with a stomach problem, a Chilean official said. Officials said they were implementing a plan that includes keeping the miners informed and busy.
"They need to understand what we know up here at the surface, that it will take many weeks for them to reach the light," Health Minister Jaime Manalich said.
Engineers worked to reinforce the first 15.2 centimeter-wide bore hole by using a long hose to coat its walls with a metallic gel to cut the risk of rocks falling and blocking the passage through the unstable mine.
Raising hopes further on Monday, a second bore hole punched into the chamber where the miners are entombed and a third probe was nearing the spot, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne reported.
The hole that reached the miners on Sunday will continue to be used to lower supplies, the second will be for communication and the third will provide ventilation, Golborne said.
But their ordeal is far from over.
Above ground, doctors and psychological experts are debating how to keep them sane during the estimated four months it will take to dig a tunnel wide enough to get them out of the safety chamber 670 meters underground where they have been buried since August 5.
Through a newly installed communication system, the miners told authorities Monday afternoon that they had eaten canned tuna, milk and biscuits stored in the refuge after the disaster. They used a backhoe to dig for trapped water.
"They had two little spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk and a biscuit every 48 hours," said Sergio Aguilar, a physician on the rescue team.
Aguilar did not say how long those meager supplies lasted after the landslide that caused a tunnel to collapse inside the San Jose gold and copper mine about 853 kilometers north of Chile's capital, Santiago.
Officials released a portion of the recording of the dialogue, in which miners are heard singing Chile's national anthem.
In a dialogue earlier Monday, each man spoke and reported feeling hungry but well, except for one with a stomach problem, a Chilean official said. Officials said they were implementing a plan that includes keeping the miners informed and busy.
"They need to understand what we know up here at the surface, that it will take many weeks for them to reach the light," Health Minister Jaime Manalich said.
Engineers worked to reinforce the first 15.2 centimeter-wide bore hole by using a long hose to coat its walls with a metallic gel to cut the risk of rocks falling and blocking the passage through the unstable mine.
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