Chilean President Sebastian Piñera (center) poses with the 33 San Jose miners at the Copiapo Hospital. (Click on photo to enlarge)
Photos: Chilean government
By H. Nelson Goodson
October 14, 2010
Copiapo, Chile - On Thursday, Sebastian Piñera, President of Chile went to the Copiapo Hospital to visit all of the 33 miners that were rescued on Wednesday. The miners spent 69 days underground in the San Jose mountain after the walls of the mine collapsed on August 5, at about 1:45 p.m. and their exit became block.
The foreman of the shift, Luis Alberto Urzua Iribarren, 54, tried to lead the men out through an air shaft, but as they were crawling to the surface, the shaft became to narrow and halted their escape from the mine.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Mine owners and fellow miners on the surface believed the 33 miners missing had been killed. No one had heard of them for 17 days, Urzua Iribarren managed to keep the miners calm and began rationing their food and supplies at their underground shelter. Their self imposed iron rationing was composed of two spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk, a bite of a cracker and a morsel of peach every other day. They only had a two day emergency food supply, but were able to stretched it by rationing, which kept them alive for 17 days.
As days went by, hope was diminishing for some of the miners. The miners had to conserved their helmet lights (only source of light) and used a bulldozer to reach a water source, but had to limit its use in order not to contaminate their air supply. They also had use of other mine chambers and one of them was used as a bathroom, but managed to stay at a refuge shelter rescuers could try and reach them.
The temperature was hot, steaming and were experiencing between 70 to 80% humidity.
They were trapped a half mile (2,200 feet) under the San Jose Mountain silver and gold mine in the Atacama Desert, about 33 miles from the city of Copiapo. The San Jose Mine has a four mile long corkscrew like route into the cave.
Until, they were able to get a message out to the outside world that they were alive. On August 22, a 6-inch bore drill finally broke through the underground refuge shelter's ceiling where they were located, after seven failed attempts.
Then, Mario Gomez, 63, wrote a simple message on a hammer telling the drillers above that all of the 33 miners were alive. Gomez' message was made public and family members who had set up a make shift camp, naming it Hope near the mine began to rejoice.
Two other 6-inch bore holes were drilled reaching the men, totalling three. One was being used as a communications line, the second for a supply line and the third for pumping clean air into it.
The rescuers first determined, the miners would be freed in December, according to Laurence Golborne, the Chile Mining Minister.
"The way that they have rationed the food, just as they've performed throughout this crisis, is an example for all of us," said Golborne, on August 24.
During a conversation with Urzua Iribarren on the same afternoon Chilean President Sebastian Piñera vowed not to abandon them and the government would do everything possible to get them out.
"You will not be left alone, you have not been alone. The government is with you all, the entire country is with you all," Piñera said.
A week later, NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Michael Duncan and a team of four specialists, including physicians and mental health experts arrived in Chile to support the miners' psychological well-being, at the request of the Chilean government. NASA has experience in dealing with isolated environments.
Experts say, miners who are confined in a tight, dark spaces, must endure a dangerous and uncomfortable physical environment alongside other stressed men. Other factors include, the air quality might not be all that good, and miners face perpetual darkness and absence of sunlight, which eventually is going to play havoc with their circadian rhythms in their eyes. Depression and anger will strike, and they will experience varying degrees of sadness and depression, anger and inability to sleep, while confined in darkness.
Some family members had said that some of the men had separated from the main group, which was split into three teams. But eventually, they kept united and were able to survive the ordeal of not knowing whether they would actually be taken out alive.
Rescuers began drilling a hole on September 3, which finally reached the miners on early morning Saturday October 9th, sooner than expected. A U.S.-made Schramm T-130 dril manufactured by Schramm Inc.of Chester, PA and a 28 inch wide canister that functions as a bit made by Center Rock Company in Pennsylvania broke through the ceiling of the refuge shelter where the miners were located.
The drill and canister bit was provided by Brandon Fisher, President of Center Rock, Inc. Fisher, 38, and Richard Soppe, 58, his director of construction and mining tools spent 37 days in Chile supervising the drilling operation and were instrumental in breaking through the ceiling mine.
The rescuers drilled a 28 inch wide hole to get a 13-foot tall rescue claustrophobic capsule shaped like a bullet down to the miners. The Phoenix 2 capsule and two backups were manufactured by the Chilean military.
On Tuesday before midnight, Manuel Gonzalez Pavaz the first rescuer went down the 28 inch shaft inside the Phoenix 2. Shortly after, Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva 30, left the underground mine just after 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday Chile time. He arrived on the surface at about 12:17 a.m. and became the first of 33 trapped miners to be brought to the surface.
The operation took more than 22 hours to take all the 33 trapped miners out. The world watched through live TV streaming when each man stepped into the capsule in the underground mine shelter and then was pulled upwards the shaft to began his journey to the surface.
On Wednesday at 9:55 p.m. Chile time, Urzua Iribarren, the last of the San Jose miners trapped in the mine reached the surface and was greeted by family members, Chilean President Sebastian Piñera and his wife, Mining Minister Laurance Golborne, Health Minister Jaime Manalich Ministers Andre Sougarret, Rene Aguilar and other people involved in the historic rescue and ending the rescue operation of the century.
Urzua Iribarren will definately go into the Guinness World Record as the longest miner to be trapped underground for 69 days and survive.
Related article: Urzua Iribarren, Last Of Chilean 33 Trapped Miners In San Jose Mine Surfaces http://bit.ly/bVtRFo
Order of miners rescued:
1. Florencio Ávalos, 31,
2. Mario Sepúlveda, 39,
3. Juan Illanes, 52,
4. Carlos Mamani, 23,
5. Jimmy Sánchez, 19,
6. Osmán Araya, 30,
7. José Ojeda, 46,
8. Claudio Yáñez, 34,
9. Mario Gómez, 63,
10. Álex Vega, 31,
11. Jorge Galleguillos, 56,
12. Edison Peña, 34,
13. Carlos Barrios, 27,
14. Víctor Zamora, 33,
15. Víctor Segovia, 48,
16. Daniel Herrera, 37,
17. Omar Reygada, 56,
18. Esteban Rojas, 44,
19. Pablo Rojas, 45,
20. Darío Segovia, 48,
21. Yonni Barrios, 50,
22. Samuel Ávalos, 43,
23. Carlos Bugueño, 27,
24. José Henríquez, 54,
25. Renán Ávalos, 29,
26. Claudio Acuña, 44,
27. Franklin Lobos, 53,
28. Richard Villarroel, 23,
29. Juan Aguilar, 46,
30. Raúl Bustos, 40,
31. Pedro Cortez, 24,
32. Ariel Ticona, 29,
33. Luis Urzúa Iribarren, 54.
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Photos: Chilean government
By H. Nelson Goodson
October 14, 2010
Copiapo, Chile - On Thursday, Sebastian Piñera, President of Chile went to the Copiapo Hospital to visit all of the 33 miners that were rescued on Wednesday. The miners spent 69 days underground in the San Jose mountain after the walls of the mine collapsed on August 5, at about 1:45 p.m. and their exit became block.
The foreman of the shift, Luis Alberto Urzua Iribarren, 54, tried to lead the men out through an air shaft, but as they were crawling to the surface, the shaft became to narrow and halted their escape from the mine.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Mine owners and fellow miners on the surface believed the 33 miners missing had been killed. No one had heard of them for 17 days, Urzua Iribarren managed to keep the miners calm and began rationing their food and supplies at their underground shelter. Their self imposed iron rationing was composed of two spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk, a bite of a cracker and a morsel of peach every other day. They only had a two day emergency food supply, but were able to stretched it by rationing, which kept them alive for 17 days.
As days went by, hope was diminishing for some of the miners. The miners had to conserved their helmet lights (only source of light) and used a bulldozer to reach a water source, but had to limit its use in order not to contaminate their air supply. They also had use of other mine chambers and one of them was used as a bathroom, but managed to stay at a refuge shelter rescuers could try and reach them.
The temperature was hot, steaming and were experiencing between 70 to 80% humidity.
They were trapped a half mile (2,200 feet) under the San Jose Mountain silver and gold mine in the Atacama Desert, about 33 miles from the city of Copiapo. The San Jose Mine has a four mile long corkscrew like route into the cave.
Until, they were able to get a message out to the outside world that they were alive. On August 22, a 6-inch bore drill finally broke through the underground refuge shelter's ceiling where they were located, after seven failed attempts.
Then, Mario Gomez, 63, wrote a simple message on a hammer telling the drillers above that all of the 33 miners were alive. Gomez' message was made public and family members who had set up a make shift camp, naming it Hope near the mine began to rejoice.
Two other 6-inch bore holes were drilled reaching the men, totalling three. One was being used as a communications line, the second for a supply line and the third for pumping clean air into it.
The rescuers first determined, the miners would be freed in December, according to Laurence Golborne, the Chile Mining Minister.
"The way that they have rationed the food, just as they've performed throughout this crisis, is an example for all of us," said Golborne, on August 24.
During a conversation with Urzua Iribarren on the same afternoon Chilean President Sebastian Piñera vowed not to abandon them and the government would do everything possible to get them out.
"You will not be left alone, you have not been alone. The government is with you all, the entire country is with you all," Piñera said.
A week later, NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Michael Duncan and a team of four specialists, including physicians and mental health experts arrived in Chile to support the miners' psychological well-being, at the request of the Chilean government. NASA has experience in dealing with isolated environments.
Experts say, miners who are confined in a tight, dark spaces, must endure a dangerous and uncomfortable physical environment alongside other stressed men. Other factors include, the air quality might not be all that good, and miners face perpetual darkness and absence of sunlight, which eventually is going to play havoc with their circadian rhythms in their eyes. Depression and anger will strike, and they will experience varying degrees of sadness and depression, anger and inability to sleep, while confined in darkness.
Some family members had said that some of the men had separated from the main group, which was split into three teams. But eventually, they kept united and were able to survive the ordeal of not knowing whether they would actually be taken out alive.
Rescuers began drilling a hole on September 3, which finally reached the miners on early morning Saturday October 9th, sooner than expected. A U.S.-made Schramm T-130 dril manufactured by Schramm Inc.of Chester, PA and a 28 inch wide canister that functions as a bit made by Center Rock Company in Pennsylvania broke through the ceiling of the refuge shelter where the miners were located.
The drill and canister bit was provided by Brandon Fisher, President of Center Rock, Inc. Fisher, 38, and Richard Soppe, 58, his director of construction and mining tools spent 37 days in Chile supervising the drilling operation and were instrumental in breaking through the ceiling mine.
The rescuers drilled a 28 inch wide hole to get a 13-foot tall rescue claustrophobic capsule shaped like a bullet down to the miners. The Phoenix 2 capsule and two backups were manufactured by the Chilean military.
On Tuesday before midnight, Manuel Gonzalez Pavaz the first rescuer went down the 28 inch shaft inside the Phoenix 2. Shortly after, Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva 30, left the underground mine just after 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday Chile time. He arrived on the surface at about 12:17 a.m. and became the first of 33 trapped miners to be brought to the surface.
The operation took more than 22 hours to take all the 33 trapped miners out. The world watched through live TV streaming when each man stepped into the capsule in the underground mine shelter and then was pulled upwards the shaft to began his journey to the surface.
On Wednesday at 9:55 p.m. Chile time, Urzua Iribarren, the last of the San Jose miners trapped in the mine reached the surface and was greeted by family members, Chilean President Sebastian Piñera and his wife, Mining Minister Laurance Golborne, Health Minister Jaime Manalich Ministers Andre Sougarret, Rene Aguilar and other people involved in the historic rescue and ending the rescue operation of the century.
Urzua Iribarren will definately go into the Guinness World Record as the longest miner to be trapped underground for 69 days and survive.
Related article: Urzua Iribarren, Last Of Chilean 33 Trapped Miners In San Jose Mine Surfaces http://bit.ly/bVtRFo
Order of miners rescued:
1. Florencio Ávalos, 31,
2. Mario Sepúlveda, 39,
3. Juan Illanes, 52,
4. Carlos Mamani, 23,
5. Jimmy Sánchez, 19,
6. Osmán Araya, 30,
7. José Ojeda, 46,
8. Claudio Yáñez, 34,
9. Mario Gómez, 63,
10. Álex Vega, 31,
11. Jorge Galleguillos, 56,
12. Edison Peña, 34,
13. Carlos Barrios, 27,
14. Víctor Zamora, 33,
15. Víctor Segovia, 48,
16. Daniel Herrera, 37,
17. Omar Reygada, 56,
18. Esteban Rojas, 44,
19. Pablo Rojas, 45,
20. Darío Segovia, 48,
21. Yonni Barrios, 50,
22. Samuel Ávalos, 43,
23. Carlos Bugueño, 27,
24. José Henríquez, 54,
25. Renán Ávalos, 29,
26. Claudio Acuña, 44,
27. Franklin Lobos, 53,
28. Richard Villarroel, 23,
29. Juan Aguilar, 46,
30. Raúl Bustos, 40,
31. Pedro Cortez, 24,
32. Ariel Ticona, 29,
33. Luis Urzúa Iribarren, 54.
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