Trapped miners will be rescued in days, says Chile president

Prayers: portraits of the 33 trapped miners at an altar in the relatives’ camp at the San Jose mine. The words in red at the top read Miners of the Heart
Vivian Sequera12 April 2012

The 33 men trapped in a Chilean mine for two months are "very close" to being rescued, the president said today.

Three simultaneous drilling operations through half a mile of rock have gone so well that Sebastian Pinera said he hoped they would be pulled to safety before he goes to Europe at the end of next week.

"We are very close to rescuing them, and I hope to be able to rescue them before leaving for Europe," he said. "We are trying to adjust the two schedules.

"For me it is very important to share this moment - not only with the 33 miners, but with their families and all Chileans," Mr Pinera added.

Pedro Buttazzoni, team leader of one of the drilling operations, said his drill had already cut through 1,500feet of rock. He said his team expected to break through to the miners in three to four days.

Rescuers were debating whether they would need to line the rescue tunnel with metal casing as planned, a process that would take several days.

If it was decided that the lining was not needed, it was "perfectly possible" that the miners could be brought to the surface by the weekend, he said.

Once the rescue shaft is complete, a specially-made steel capsule, designed by the Chilean navy, will be lowered.

Commandos will go down to assess the situation and help the miners use the rescue capsule. It is expected to take an hour to pull each of the men to the surface.

Rescue chief Andre Sougarret said he understood how anxious everyone was to rescue the men, who have been underground for 60 days since the collapse on August 5 of more than 700,000 tons of rock, which sealed off the lower third of the mine. "I understand the desire of everyone, me included, is to leave as soon as possible. Still, we can't take any risks," he said.

Mr Sougarret said the leading Plan B rescue drill was delayed for hours yesterday to replace one of its hammers, and that the Plan C oil well drill went slightly off course in the gold and copper mine near Copiapo, 450 miles north of the capital Santiago.

The Plan C team is recalibrating its drill, slowing its advance. The Plan A drill, which is behind the other two, has been stalled since Saturday to change its drill bit.

"As of now we don't have anything new that would enable us to move up the date" from the second half of October, Mr Souggaret said.

Only when the Plan B drill has reached the miners, and the team has lowered a video camera to examine the walls of the shaft, will the rescue team decide whether to reinforce the shaft with steel tubing.

The process could extend the miners' stay for three to 10 more days, but would ensure their safety should the unstable mine shift on their way up.

For the last two weeks, the miners have been sending keepsakes up in the "carrier pigeon" capsules that carry food, clean clothes, medicine and other supplies down through a narrow borehole to their cavern.

Letters from their families, signed Chilean flags and other things they do not want to leave behind are coming up out of the hole each day, said Alberto Iturra, the chief of a team of psychologists supporting the miners.

One of the miners, Mario Sepulveda, was 40 yesterday. Rescuers sang Happy Birthday to him by telephone, and sent down 33 cakes in a capsule.

Members of the miners' union protested in Copiapo, the regional capital, demanding their pay for the second half of September and other benefits owed to them by the San Esteban mining company.

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