Chile's trapped miners finally set to escape

[yellow people]

Heartfelt homecoming for Chile's rescued miners

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera (C) shakes hands with rescued miner Omar Reygadas as another rescued miner Luis Urzua (2nd R) watches after a photo session inside Copiapo Hospital, where the 33 rescued miners are undergoing full medical examination October 14, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Jose Manuel de la Maza/Chilean Presidency/Handout

By Cesar Illiano and Terry Wade
COPIAPO, Chile | Fri Oct 15, 2010 4:07am EDT

COPIAPO, Chile (Reuters) - Chile's rescued miners head home on Friday to a hero's welcome after their miracle survival for two months deep underground, and now yearn to put the psychological trauma of their ordeal behind them. The first three of the 33 miners were cleared to head home from a hospital late on Thursday, returning to neighbors' cheers and confetti a day after their rescue from the depths of a collapsed mine. "This is really incredible.

It hasn't sunk in," said 52-year-old Juan Illanes amid roaring cheers, still wearing the dark sunglasses he and his fellow miners were given to protect their eyesight as they acclimatize after 69 days underground in a dark tunnel. He said being trapped after the cave-in had taken him "to the limit." The remaining 30 miners were due to head home on Friday after medical tests. Most of the men are surprisingly healthy considering they were stuck in a wet, hot and dark tunnel for so long.

The miners, who set a world record for survival underground, were finally hoisted to the surface in a metal capsule in a rescue operation that was watched by hundreds of millions of people worldwide and triggered celebrations across the South American nation. They have returned as celebrities -- and to job offers, gifts and invitations from Real Madrid and Manchester United to travel to Europe to watch soccer matches. Avid Elvis Presley fan Edison Pena has even been invited to Graceland, the late Presley's former home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pena, 34, said he did not expect to see his home again. "I didn't think I'd make it back, so this reception really blows my mind," he said, as waiting neighbors showered him with confetti. "We really had a bad time." When the mine caved in, all 33 men were believed to have died in yet another of Latin America's litany of mining accidents. But rescuers found them 17 days later with a bore hole the width of a grapefruit.

That tiny hole became an umbilical cord used to pass down hydration gels, water and food to keep them alive until a bigger shaft could be bored to bring them up. In a complex but flawless operation under Chile's far northern Atacama desert, the miners were hauled out one by one through 2,050 feet of rock in a metal capsule little wider than a man's shoulders and dubbed "Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rose from the ashes. It took 24 hours to extract the 33 miners and six rescuers who had gone down the escape shaft to help the men get out.

They are in remarkably good shape considering the ordeal. One of the miners has pneumonia and was being treated with antibiotics, and others need dental treatment, but none are suffering from serious health problems. Experts say the most lasting damage could be emotional. "There should be concern about their psychological adjustment over time, particularly after the joy of the reunion period, which will last for a few days to a few weeks," said John Fairbank, a psychiatry professor at the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina.

(Additional reporting by Juana Casas in Copiapo, Antonio de la Jara, Fabian Cambero, Brad Haynes and Hugh Bronstein in Santiago; Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Will Dunham)

 

[Sauron]

Chile's rescued miners mum on nightmare experience


Chile's rescued miners mum on nightmare experience

Rescued Chilean miner Florencio Avalos (C) attends a welcome party at his neighborhood in Copiapo October 15, 2010. Chile's rescued miners headed home as heroes on Friday after a 69-day ordeal deep underground during which they drank oil-contaminated water and set off explosives in a desperate bid to alert rescuers. Credit: Reuters/Luis Hidalgo

By Terry Wade and Juana Casas
COPIAPO, Chile | Sat Oct 16, 2010 1:08am EDT

COPIAPO, Chile (Reuters) - Chile's 33 miners began their first weekend above ground since a rescue that gripped the world, but were keeping silent on many of the hellish details of their 69-day ordeal trapped deep in the earth.

"We are not going to talk about that," said 63-year-old Mario Gomez, the oldest of the workers stuck for more than two months in a northern Chilean copper and gold mine, when asked by reporters about the nightmare experience. "That's reserved," was the answer to the same question from Ariel Ticona, 29, as he left the hospital where he and the rest of the rescued workers were cared for until most were discharged on Friday.

The miners have became global media stars since their widely watched rescue on Wednesday. Book and movie deals are expected, which could help account for their reluctance to reveal too much about the experience. They have also been showered with job offers and gifts, including invitations to visit the Greek isles and Graceland as well as attend European soccer matches.

But they are not saying much so far about what it was really like after the August 5 cave-in that left them huddled together in a humid cavern 2,050 feet underground. Reporters will have another try at extracting information from the 33 on Sunday when many of them plan to return to the mine for a ceremony marking their ordeal. Ticona's third child, "Esperanza", or Hope, was born while he was trapped below. He and others released from the hospital were showered with confetti as they arrived home on Thursday and Friday to jubilant cheers of family and friends.

When the mine caved in, the men were believed to have died in yet another of Latin America's litany of mining accidents. Rescuers found them 2 1/2 weeks later with a bore hole the width of a grapefruit. That tiny hole became an umbilical cord used to pass down hydration gels, water and food to keep them alive until a bigger shaft could be bored to bring them up. In a complex but flawless operation under Chile's Atacama desert, the miners were hauled out one by one in a metal capsule little wider than a man's shoulders and dubbed "Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rose from the ashes.

The men burned tires in the first days after the mine collapse, hoping the smoke would reach the surface and alert rescuers, and set off explosives in an effort to be heard. When their reserves of bottled water dwindled to 2 1/2 gallons (10 liters), they began drinking from metal drums of water tainted with motor oil. "The good thing about being free is that when you have a bad dream you wake up and realize it was a dream," rescued miner Victor Segovia said. "But inside (the mine), we would wake up in the nightmare."

(Additional reporting by Esteban Midel in Copiapo, Antonio de la Jara, Fabian Cambero, Brad Haynes and Simon Gardner in Santiago; Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

[Cao Pi]

Capsule used to rescue Chile miners to be exhibited


Capsule used to rescue Chile miners to be exhibited

Xinhua news agency

A file photo shows Chile Minister of Health Jaime Mañalich (C) overseeing final details of capsule Fenix II at the San Jose copper mine before the rescue operation​

​

The capsule that was specially built to rescue 33 miners trapped in a copper mine in Chile will be exhibited at the Shanghai Expo.

Chilean Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter said Capsule Fenix I will be sent to China. "Fenix II will be placed at Ciudadania Square of Santiago while Fenix III will be on display in Copiapo, where the San Jose mine is located," he told local TV on Sunday.

The three capsules, built by the Chilean Navy, were made to lift up the miners through a tunnel 67cm in diameter. The 33 miners were trapped 700 metres underground since Aug 5 when the San Jose mine collapsed. They were all rescued successfully on Oct 11 after going through a 69-day ordeal.

 

[Cao Pi]

Rescue puts Chilean minister on presidential track


Rescue puts Chilean minister on presidential track

Manuel Gonzalez (L), the first of the rescuers to enter the collapsed San Jose mine and the last to leave during rescue operations for the 33 trapped miners, is presented to the media by Chile's Mining Minister Laurence Golborne during a news conference at the gold and copper mine in Copiapo October 14, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Luis Hidalgo

By Brad Haynes
SANTIAGO | Tue Oct 19, 2010 8:59am BST

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The stunning rescue of 33 miners has turned Mining Minister Laurence Golborne into one of Chile's most popular public figures, and the former CEO is already being mentioned as a presidential candidate. Golborne's management of the two-month operation and the accompanying media exposure more than quadrupled his public recognition from 16 percent in July and boosted his popularity to 87 percent ahead of Wednesday's flawless rescue.

"He could be a presidential candidate, without a doubt," said Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, one of the president's top advisors, said in a interview on state TV. Golborne, who entered public service this year after running retail giant Cencosud, does not belong to a political party and has said his focus for now remains firmly on the mining portfolio of the world's No.1 copper producer.

Political analysts say Golborne could be the next standard bearer for Chile's market-friendly right now led by President Sebastian Pinera, the billionaire entrepreneur who is barred by the constitution from running for re-election in 2013. The 48-year-old Golborne, with his longish hair and boyish grin, was a constant presence on television when viewers watched a metal capsule lift the miners one-by-one up a 2,050-foot (625 metre) escape shaft to safety.

"Golborne didn't go to sleep at all during the 24-hour rescue, embracing all the miners and relatives," said Jon Farmer, an analyst for UK-based Latin American Newsletters. "He's media savvy, he's good looking," Farmer added. "He is the most prominent businessman in a cabinet made up primarily of businessmen." Golborne, a twice-married father of six who studied business administration at Stanford University, has not said whether or not he'd like to run. If he does move towards a candidacy, his first challenge will be choosing his allies.

IDEOLOGICALLY CLOSE TO PINERA

His free-market values could clash with the more protectionist elements of Chile's governing centre-right coalition. And his public agnosticism may grate against the coalition's heavily Catholic, conservative base. "Ideologically, he would be closer to Pinera than anybody else," said Patricio Navia, a political scientist at New York University.

"He told me that he believed the problem with UDI (the senior party in the coalition) was that it wanted to impose its own moral values on the rest of the population," said Navia, who has had multiple conversations with the minister. Golborne's roots are also outside the traditional bastions of conservative power. The son of a hardware store owner from a middle-class neighbourhood, he studied at a public high school rather than one of the private Catholic schools populated by Chile's upper class.

But his lack of political baggage could become an asset just as it was for former President Michelle Bachelet, another charismatic political star whose profile rose quickly after a public challenge in her first year in public office. Bachelet was appointed unexpectedly as health minister in 2000 and given 90 days to eliminate waiting lines that had plagued public hospitals. The much-publicized challenge gave her a chance to showcase her empathy and efficiency, jump-starting an ascent to the presidency six years later.

Golborne has also made the most of his moment in the spotlight. A live television signal carried around the world the night of the rescue showed him seated at a campfire with relatives of the miners, strumming a guitar and singing the tunes of a Chilean communist folk singer. When the mine caved in on August 5, the 33 men were thought to have died. Rescuers found them 2 1/2 weeks later with a bore hole the width of a grapefruit. That tiny hole became an umbilical cord used to pass down hydration gels, water and food to keep them alive. A bigger shaft was later drilled to extract them.

(Editing by Hugh Bronstein; editing by Todd Eastham and Bill Trott)

 

[Valkyrie]

Chile miners rescue: profiles of the 33 men


Chile miners rescue: profiles of the 33 men

Here is a breakdown of the 33 Chilean men who have spent more than two months underground after their mine collapsed.

By Nick Allen

Clockwise from top left: Alex Vega Salazaar, Ariel Ticona Yanez, Carlos Bugueno Alfaro, Carlos Barrios Contreras, Jorge Galleguillos, Jimmy Sanchez Lagues, Franklin Lobos Ramirez, Florencio Avalos Silva Photo: AP

Clockwise from top left: Carlos Mamani Solis, Claudio Acuna Cortes, Claudio Yanez Lagos, Daniel Herrera Campos, Juan Aguilar Gaete, Juan Illanes Palma, Jose Henrique Gonzalez, Jose Ojeda Vidal

Clockwise from top left: Dario Segovia Rojas, Edison Penaa Villarroel, Esteban Rojas Carrizo, Omar Orlando Reygada Rojas, Osman Isidro Araya Acuna, Mario Sep Iveda Espina, Mario Gomez Heredia and Luis Alberto Urzua Photo: AP

Clockwise from top left: Pablo Amadeos Rojas Villacorta, Pedro Cortez, Raul Enriquez Bustos Ibanez, Renan Avalos Silva, Victor Zamora Bugueno, Victor Segovia Rojas, Samuel Avalos Acuna and Richard Villarroel Godoy Photo: AP

Yonny Barrios Rojas


Luis Urzua, 54 The shift foreman, known as Don Lucho by other miners, took a leading role while they were trapped and made maps of their cave. Rescued

Yonni Barrios, 50 Known as "the doctor" because he has first aid skills from helping his diabetic mother. While he has been underground his wife discovered he had a mistress. Rescued

Franklin Lobos, 53 A well known former football player known as the "magic mortar." While underground he received a T-shirt signed by Barcelona player David Villa. Rescued

Mario Sepulveda, 40 An electrical specialist known as "the presenter" because he acted as a spokesman and guide on videos the miners sent up. He ended one video saying "Over to you in the studio." Rescued

Raul Bustos, 40 The hydraulics engineer was a victim of the February earthquake in Chile. He moved north, finding work at the mine to support his wife and two children. Rescued

Ariel Ticona, 29 His wife gave birth to a daughter on Sept 14 and he was able to watch the arrival on video. He named her Esperanza, which means "Hope." Rescued

Daniel Herrera, 27 Truck driver was given the role of medical assistant in the mine. He complained about the psychologist dealing with the men, saying it was causing hysteria. Rescued

Florencio Avalos, 31 Has been filming videos sent up to families. He had helped get his brother Renan a job in the mine. Rescued

Renan Avalos, 29 Trapped along with his older brother Florencio. Their father Alfonso cried with joy when the drill broke through. Rescued

Jimmy Sanchez, 19 The youngest man trapped had only been a miner for five months. He has a baby daughter. Rescued

Pedro Cortez, 24 Went to school near the mine. He and his friend Carlos Bugueno, who was also trapped, started work there at the same time. Rescued

Carlos Mamani, 24, The only Bolivian among the 33, the heavy machinery operator moved to Chile a decade ago. Rescued

Carlos Barrios, 27 A part-time miner who also drives a taxi and likes horse racing. He was said to be unhappy with interference from psychologists. Rescued

Carlos Bugueno, 27 A hard working and calm man, according to his sister. Friends with fellow trapped miner Pedro Cortez. Rescued

Richard Villarroel, 27 The mechanic had worked in the mine for two years and lives with his mother and sister. Rescued

Osman Araya, 30 In a video message he told his wife and baby daughter Britany: "I will fight to the end to be with you." Rescued

Claudio Yanez, 34 The drill operator's long term partner Cristina Nunez proposed to him while he was underground. He plans to marry her as soon as possible. Rescued

Edison Pena, 34 The fittest miner, he has reportedly been running 10km a day underground. Also requested that Elvis Presley songs be sent down into the mine. Rescued

Victor Zamora, 33 A mechanic who only went into the mine on the day of the accident to fix a vehicle. He was also a victim of the Chile earthquake in February. Rescued

Alex Vega Salazar, 31 Suffers from kidney problems and hypertension and had worked in the mine for nine years. Rescued

Samuel Avalos, 43 A father-of-three who had worked in the mine for five months. He was given the responsibility of checking air quality. Rescued

Claudio Acuna, 56 Had his birthday in the mine on September 9. His wife sent him a football shirt. Rescued

Esteban Rojas, 44 Told his partner Jessica Ganiez he will marry her in a church as soon as he gets out. Rescued

Juan Carlos Aguilar, 49 A father of one, his wife Cristy Coronado has camped above the mine throughout his ordeal. She said he has remained upbeat. Rescued

Victor Segovia, 48 An electrician and father-of-four who told his family: "This hell is killing me. When I sleep I dream we are in an oven." Rescued

Jose Ojeda, 46 A grandfather who suffers from kidney problems and has been on medication for diabetes. Rescued

Pablo Rojas, 45 He had worked in the mine for less than six months when the accident happened. His brother Esteban was also trapped. Rescued

Dario Segovia, 48 The drill operator is the son of a miner, and his father was once trapped for a week. His sister Maria led prayers at Camp Hope. Rescued

Juan Illanes, 52 A former Chilean corporal who served in the Beagle Conflict, a border dispute with Argentina. Rescued

Jose Enriquez, 54 A preacher who has worked in mining for 33 years, he has become the miners' pastor and organised daily prayers. Rescued

Jorge Galleguillos, 56 Broke a rib last year and suffers from hypertension. Rescued

Mario Gomez, 63 The oldest of the trapped miners, he had been thinking of retiring in November. He wrote the note that told rescuers all 33 were safe. Rescued

Omar Reygada, 56 A bulldozer operator whose children have been keeping a diary of their life above ground. Rescued