World transfixed as miners rescued
Source: Agencies |
October 14, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE miners who spent 69 agonizing days deep under the Chilean earth were hoisted one by one to freedom yesterday, their rescue moving with remarkable speed while their countrymen erupted in cheers and the world watched transfixed.
Beginning at midnight, Chilean time, and sometimes as quickly as once every 40 minutes, the men climbed into a slender cage nearly a half-mile underground and made a smooth ascent into fresh air. By early afternoon, more than half the men - 17 of 33 - had been rescued.
In a meticulously planned operation, they were monitored by video on the way up for any sign of panic.
They had oxygen masks, dark glasses to protect their eyes from unfamiliar daylight and sweaters for the jarring climate change: subterranean swelter to the chillier air above.
They emerged looking healthier than many had expected and even clean-shaven, and at least one, Mario Sepulveda, the second to taste freedom, bounded out and thrust a fist upward like a prizefighter.
Smooth going
"I think I had extraordinary luck. I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God," he said as he awaited the air force helicopter ride to a nearby hospital where all the miners were to spend 48 hours under medical observation.
The operation moved past the halfway point with the rescue of the 17th miner, a 56-year-old electrician named Omar Reygadas who helped organize life underground. His fourth great-grandchild was born a month after the men were sealed into the mine's lower reaches by an August 5 collapse of 700,000 tons of rock.
As it traveled down and up, down and up, the rescue capsule was not rotating as much inside the 622-meter escape shaft as officials expected, allowing for faster trips, and officials said the operation could be complete by sunrise today, if not sooner.
The anxiety that had accompanied the careful final days of preparation broke at 12:11am, with the first rescue - Florencio Avalos, who emerged from the missile-like chamber and smiled broadly after his half-mile journey.
Avalos hugged his sobbing seven-year-old son and wife and then President Sebastian Pinera, who has been deeply involved in an effort that had become a matter of national pride.
Avalos was followed an hour later by the most ebullient of the group, Sepulveda, whose shouts were heard even before the capsule peeked above the surface. He hugged his wife and handed out souvenir rocks from the mine to laughing rescuers.
No one in recorded history has survived as long trapped underground as the 33 men. For the first 17 days, no one even knew whether they were alive. In the weeks that followed, the world was captivated by their endurance and unity.
Health Minister Jaime Manalich told a news conference after eight miners were rescued that all of them were in good health, and none has required any special medication, not even the diabetic among them.
Chile exploded in joy and relief at the first, breakthrough rescue.
In the capital, Santiago, a cacophony of car horns sounded. In the nearby regional capital of Copiapo, from which 24 of the miners hail, the mayor canceled school so parents and children could "watch the rescue in the warmth of the home."
News channels from North America to Europe and the Middle East carried live coverage.
The images beamed worldwide were extraordinary: Grainy footage from beneath the earth showed each miner climbing into the 4-meter-tall capsule, then disappearing upward through an opening. Then a camera showed the pod steadily rising through the dark, smooth-walled tunnel.
The lone foreigner among the miners, Carlos Mamani of Bolivia, was visited at a nearby clinic by Pinera and Bolivian President Evo Morales.
The miner could be heard telling the Chilean president how nice it was to breathe fresh air and see the stars.
Most of the men emerged clean-shaven. Crews had lowered packages dubbed "palomas," Spanish for carrier pigeons, to get food and medicine to the men during their weeks underground, and in the days before rescue they were sent razors and shaving cream.
Avalos, the 31-year-old second-in-command of the miners, was chosen to be first out because he was in the best condition.
When the capsule came out of the manhole-sized opening, Avalos stepped out as bystanders cheered, clapped and broke into a chant of the country's name - "Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!"
The next three men out followed because they were deemed the fittest of body and mind. The 10 to follow included miners with health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and skin ulcers.
The last miner was slated to be shift foreman Luis Urzua, whose leadership was credited with helping the men endure the first two and a half weeks without outside contact.
The men made 48 hours' worth of rations last before rescuers reached them with a narrow bore hole to send more food.
Janette Marin, sister-in-law of miner Dario Segovia, said the order of rescue didn't matter. "This won't be a success unless they all get out," she said.
Beginning at midnight, Chilean time, and sometimes as quickly as once every 40 minutes, the men climbed into a slender cage nearly a half-mile underground and made a smooth ascent into fresh air. By early afternoon, more than half the men - 17 of 33 - had been rescued.
In a meticulously planned operation, they were monitored by video on the way up for any sign of panic.
They had oxygen masks, dark glasses to protect their eyes from unfamiliar daylight and sweaters for the jarring climate change: subterranean swelter to the chillier air above.
They emerged looking healthier than many had expected and even clean-shaven, and at least one, Mario Sepulveda, the second to taste freedom, bounded out and thrust a fist upward like a prizefighter.
Smooth going
"I think I had extraordinary luck. I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God," he said as he awaited the air force helicopter ride to a nearby hospital where all the miners were to spend 48 hours under medical observation.
The operation moved past the halfway point with the rescue of the 17th miner, a 56-year-old electrician named Omar Reygadas who helped organize life underground. His fourth great-grandchild was born a month after the men were sealed into the mine's lower reaches by an August 5 collapse of 700,000 tons of rock.
As it traveled down and up, down and up, the rescue capsule was not rotating as much inside the 622-meter escape shaft as officials expected, allowing for faster trips, and officials said the operation could be complete by sunrise today, if not sooner.
The anxiety that had accompanied the careful final days of preparation broke at 12:11am, with the first rescue - Florencio Avalos, who emerged from the missile-like chamber and smiled broadly after his half-mile journey.
Avalos hugged his sobbing seven-year-old son and wife and then President Sebastian Pinera, who has been deeply involved in an effort that had become a matter of national pride.
Avalos was followed an hour later by the most ebullient of the group, Sepulveda, whose shouts were heard even before the capsule peeked above the surface. He hugged his wife and handed out souvenir rocks from the mine to laughing rescuers.
No one in recorded history has survived as long trapped underground as the 33 men. For the first 17 days, no one even knew whether they were alive. In the weeks that followed, the world was captivated by their endurance and unity.
Health Minister Jaime Manalich told a news conference after eight miners were rescued that all of them were in good health, and none has required any special medication, not even the diabetic among them.
Chile exploded in joy and relief at the first, breakthrough rescue.
In the capital, Santiago, a cacophony of car horns sounded. In the nearby regional capital of Copiapo, from which 24 of the miners hail, the mayor canceled school so parents and children could "watch the rescue in the warmth of the home."
News channels from North America to Europe and the Middle East carried live coverage.
The images beamed worldwide were extraordinary: Grainy footage from beneath the earth showed each miner climbing into the 4-meter-tall capsule, then disappearing upward through an opening. Then a camera showed the pod steadily rising through the dark, smooth-walled tunnel.
The lone foreigner among the miners, Carlos Mamani of Bolivia, was visited at a nearby clinic by Pinera and Bolivian President Evo Morales.
The miner could be heard telling the Chilean president how nice it was to breathe fresh air and see the stars.
Most of the men emerged clean-shaven. Crews had lowered packages dubbed "palomas," Spanish for carrier pigeons, to get food and medicine to the men during their weeks underground, and in the days before rescue they were sent razors and shaving cream.
Avalos, the 31-year-old second-in-command of the miners, was chosen to be first out because he was in the best condition.
When the capsule came out of the manhole-sized opening, Avalos stepped out as bystanders cheered, clapped and broke into a chant of the country's name - "Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!"
The next three men out followed because they were deemed the fittest of body and mind. The 10 to follow included miners with health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and skin ulcers.
The last miner was slated to be shift foreman Luis Urzua, whose leadership was credited with helping the men endure the first two and a half weeks without outside contact.
The men made 48 hours' worth of rations last before rescuers reached them with a narrow bore hole to send more food.
Janette Marin, sister-in-law of miner Dario Segovia, said the order of rescue didn't matter. "This won't be a success unless they all get out," she said.
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