Miners plead for salvation from underground 'hell'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Miners plead for salvation from underground 'hell'
Posted 23 minutes ago

Chile's trapped miners say they are enduring "hell" underground, putting urgency into a rescue operation that could drag on for months before providing salvation.

The 33 men, living in unimaginable conditions deep below ground for 20 days, pleaded with president Sebastian Pinera to save them, in an exchange over an intercom line dropped through a narrow drill hole.

"We are waiting for all of Chile to do everything to get us out of this hell," group leader Luis Urzua said.

Mr Urzua added that all the miners are in good condition physically and had high hopes of rescue after finally being located last Sunday (local time) by a probe attached to the end of a drill bit.

Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/26/2993621.htm?section=justin

[snagglepuss]

1. My thoughts go out to them and their families. What a nightmarish situation.

[louis-t]

2. Can't stop thinking about these poor guys.

How horrible it must be.

[xultar]

3. I hope they are dropping down tons of vallium and other shit...

they are going to need it.

[SPedigrees]

4. The plight of these miners is unimaginable.

I hope the rescue will be sooner than estimated, but above all I hope all are rescued safely.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Survivor offers trapped miners advice

Survivor offers trapped miners advice
AP Last updated 09:10 26/08/2010

After surviving 14 days trapped underground in a collapsed Australian mine, Todd Russell has a few words of wisdom for the miners trapped in Chile: Keep your sense of humor.

Support each other.

And belting out a rendition of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" never hurts.

The 33 miners who have been trapped since the August 6 mine collapse in Chile may be stuck there for up to four months as rescuers struggle to reach them. For those 33 people, Russell says, surviving that mine will be all about the mind.

"Mentally, it's going to be very hard," says Russell, 38.

"Fourteen days for us felt like an eternity. Four months is going to feel like light years."

In 2006, Russell and fellow miner Brant Webb found themselves buried a kilometer underground, after an earthquake caused a cave-in at a gold mine in the island state of Tasmania. The pair were trapped in the 1.2-meter-tall safety cage in which they'd been working.

Fourteen men made it out safely, including Webb and Russell.

The only food they had was one cereal bar, which they left untouched until they'd been trapped nearly three days. Even then, they took only small nibbles of it, savoring each bite. They used their hats to collect water that seeped into the cage through the rocks.

There was no room to stand, and they spent most of the 14 days lying down. Russell's left leg went numb. The air was stiflingly hot, but the water dripping down on them combined with air drafts led to hypothermia.

But it was the mental anguish more than the physical that presented the biggest challenge. To overcome it, Russell says, they swapped jokes, told tall tales and reassured each other that they would live.

More:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/4063318/Survivor-offers-trapped-miners-advice

[liberation]

9. Those miners have already spent more time underground than that survivor...

.

[Critters2]

6. Four months. I cannot imagine.

I sincerely wish there were a way to get there sooner. Sending vibes to the miners, and those who love them.

[unkachuck]

12. I hear ya....

....I get claustrophobic riding in elevators....there ought to be a way to expedite the rescue....

[whyverne]

7. I wonder which one will say, "We're still punched in" first. nt

[petronius]

11. They'd sure better be! Wonder when double- and triple-time wages

kick in in Chile...

[RamboLiberal]

8. Good article here on difficulties and why it takes so long

American mine rescue teams drilled similar boreholes to evacuate trapped miners at the Quecreek Mine in Pennsylvania in 2002 and the Sunshine Mine in Idaho in 1972. But those holes were just a fraction of the depth required in Chile. And Quecreek is a coal mine with relatively soft deposits.

"We're talking about a hard rock mine, so I would expect the drilling progress is going to be a lot slower," says Robert Ferriter, a senior mine safety and health specialist at the Colorado School of Mines.

Ferriter lists some of the obstacles drillers face in reaching the trapped miners:

— Hitting a fault zone with soft material, which will "interfere with the drilling."

— Drills "wander. They don't go in nice straight line(s). They'll corkscrew around."


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129383354&ft=1&f=1001

[MilesColtrane]

10. They better drop down some duct tape.

It's only a matter of time before one or more of them goes stark raving mad and gets violent.

What a nightmare. I think I would rather be dead than to be in that situation.

[Judi Lynn]

13. Chile miners told to exercise so they can fit through rescue holes

Chile miners told to exercise so they can fit through rescue holes
The 33 miners trapped underground in Chile have been told to maintain exercise regimes to ensure they are slim enough to fit through a rescue holes.
By Fiona Govan, and Andrew Hough
Published: 10:00AM BST 26 Aug 2010

The men, estimated to have already lost up to 22lbs after surviving 17 days with only a mouthful or two of tuna, a biscuit and half a glass of milk every 48 hours, have been warned not to put on too much weight through lack of exercise.

A tape measure has been sent down to record their waistlines after Jaime Mañalich, the Minister of Health, said it was essential they remained slim enough to fit through the 26 inch borehole that will eventually take them up to the surface.

In an attempt to keep them fit and sane, they have been given daily tasks such as digging a latrine, while they will also be delivered playing cards, dominoes, pens and paper and music to relieve the boredom.

Jose Hernandez, a Nasa astronaut, said the space agency, with its long research on aiding astronauts isolated in space, could help the Chileans understand how to provide "psychological support for those trapped".

He also said the Americans could help design "an exercise protocol to prevent muscle atrophy".

Nasa said it would be provide "support as requested".

The men, trapped 2,300ft underground in the San Jose gold and copper mine, will also be sent a video camera so they can record messages for their families above ground.

More:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/chile/7965304/Chile-miners-told-to-exercise-so-they-can-fit-through-rescue-holes.html

[annabanana]

14. Is the space large enough so that waste won't be a critical issue?

I live with 3 men in a small house with working plumbing and yet it's the first question I had about the living conditions of those poor 33 guys.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Chile faces unique challenge in maintaining miners

Chile faces unique challenge in maintaining miners
By BRADLEY BROOKS (AP) – 8 hours ago

COPIAPO, Chile — In less than a week the 33 miners trapped under Chile's Atacama Desert will have been stuck underground longer than any others in memory — taxing authorities Thursday with unique challenges on coaxing them and their families through the ordeal.

A team of submarine commanders was called in for advice on close-quarters living. NASA is advising on "life sciences" and giving the men a sense they control their own destinies. Exercise programs are in place so the miners are skinny enough to fit through a rescue hole.

Even a masseuse roams a makeshift camp for the miners' families, relieving tensions with a touch.

All in an effort to confront the unique challenges being faced by all involved to bring the miners out alive.

Extreme patience is seen with each new day that breaks over Camp Hope — where the families of the miners have erected tents, awaiting their loved ones — but there are high expectations for results.

"Patience, longing to see my husband, that is what is keeping me here," Cristy Coronado, 40, said as she shivered off the morning cold Thursday, waiting for news of her husband, miner Juan Aguilar. "I have camped here each night since he disappeared and I will stay until he returns. That is my effort and I expect the same from those responsible for this disaster."

The miners were trapped by an Aug. 5 collapse, and rescuers established contact with them Sunday by drilling a 6-inch-wide (15-centimeter-wide) hole to the shelter. That hole and two others are now lifelines, delivering supplies, communications and fresh air to the miners while they wait for an escape tunnel to be drilled.

Chilean navy Capt. Renato Navarro said officials called him and a team of submarine commanders in to counsel them on how to treat men stuck in close quarters.

More:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i075ahoJZZkuwcSyRJcUkUDZKuFQD9HR6L780