<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We left Part 1 of this story just as the surface rescue teams finally penetrated the lowest levels of the San Jose Mine.\u00a0 At this point, they had no idea if there were any survivors from the cataclysmic collapse that occurred on August 5, 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was day seventeen before the drill rig labeled 10B broke into the passageway above the Refuge\u00a0 (a common room most of the 33 trapped miners had used as their home base since the mine imploded).\u00a0 The miners had already considered what to do if and when this happened.\u00a0 For many days they could hear sounds from nine different drilling operations working to breach the mine.\u00a0 Most missed their mark but the 10B bit kept getting closer and then broke through.\u00a0 The miners\u00a0 set about cleaning the end of the drill shaft so they could spray it with red paint.\u00a0 There had to be some way to let the surface know they were still alive.\u00a0 They used a large metal wrench to bang on the end of the 115 segments of the drill bit hoping the sound would travel the 2,100 feet to the surface.\u00a0 They also attached some rubber tubing with a few notes inside hoping they would survive the wet muddy conditions when the drill bit was pulled out of the bore hole.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At first, the drill rig operators were not sure if they just heard sounds from the mountain shifting, but the persistent efforts by the miners were too hard to ignore.\u00a0 When the rig was pulled back, the first thing they noticed was the red paint, then the notes that had survived the trip to the surface.\u00a0 The one that elicited a celebration simply said, \u201cEstamos bien en el refugio.\u00a0 Los 33 (We are all well in the Refuge.\u00a0 The 33).\u201d\u00a0 A camera and microphone were lowered into the chamber and while the surface could see the 33 in the dimly lit cavern, the microphone would not work.\u00a0 Next they lowered a jury-rigged phone that allowed the first audible contact.\u00a0 The 33\u2019s spirits were lifted when the Minister of Mining told them how the entire country had been following their story and praying for them.\u00a0 He assured them there would soon be another, larger bore hole open (which opened only a few meters from the first).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With better communications established, the surface team took action to address the miner\u2019s health.\u00a0 After days of starvation rations, simply sending down \u2018real food\u2019 would have actually killed some of the weaker men (a sad lesson that had been learned when the Nazi concentration camps were liberated during World War II).\u00a0 With instructions from the medical team on the surface, the men were sent a gel-like drink containing nutrients their bodies would need to digest normal food.\u00a0 One of the miners who had a minimal knowledge of how to administer injections was charged with taking blood samples to assess their health.\u00a0 The 33 were also sent an abundant supply of fresh water as many were in the early stages of kidney failure.\u00a0 Consultations with the United States space program medical people at NASA were initiated.\u00a0 A planned routine set up by the Chilean Health service was key to bringing them back to a healthier physical state without further damaging their already compromised bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As the 33 regained their physical strength, the surface team was also interested in their mental state.\u00a0 They were asked to fill out a questionnaire that would supply the government with their height, weight, age, and other personal data plus their R.U.T. (essentially their national identity number).\u00a0 As miner Juan Illanes observed, \u201cThey had to make sure it was really us down there – without an R.U.T., you don\u2019t exist in Chile.\u201d\u00a0 The R.U.T. would also help the government supply aid to the miner\u2019s families.\u00a0 The form asked \u2018who was in charge\u2019 to which most answered \u2018Luis Urzua\u2019 (the shift boss).\u00a0 Urzua had initially stepped back and suggested they all needed to make decisions during the early days of their imprisonment, but with the wheels of rescue now in motion, he again assumed more of a leadership role.\u00a0 Luis was deeply hurt when some of his fellow captives later blamed him for not closing the mine when the cracks in the Ramp first appeared, but most recognized it was a company decision, not Urzua\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A call with the President caused a bit of a stir.\u00a0 When he was asked, ‘How soon will we be rescued?\u2019, he said, \u201cYou won\u2019t be out before September 18 (a national day of festivities celebrated each year).\u00a0 But God willing, we\u2019ll have you out by Christmas.\u201d\u00a0 The thought of four more months trapped below ground sent several of the men into a deep depression.\u00a0 The miners thought that many more months of heat, humidity and stress (the mountain was still settling around them) might be enough to kill a few of the weaker men.\u00a0 It took Mario Sepulveda to shake them out of this line of negative thinking.\u00a0 Mario said, \u201cYou think I don\u2019t want to get out of here, too?\u00a0 If I could, I\u2019d grab onto the next thing that comes down that hole and pull myself through it.\u00a0 But I can\u2019t, because I\u2019m too big.\u00a0 No, the only alternative is to wait.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Specialized drill rigs were brought into the area as well as the expert drillers needed to operate them.\u00a0 The plan was to drill a 15 inch bore hole into the cavern now that they had better coordinates to follow thanks to Luis Arzua\u2019s hand drawn schematics sent to the surface.\u00a0 This hole would then be expanded to 28 inches, large enough to allow a rescue capsule dubbed \u2018The Phoenix\u2019 to be lowered into the chamber.\u00a0 It would be a \u2018one man at a time\u2019 ride to the surface if the larger bore hole could be completed.\u00a0 The team of Americans from Center Rock, Inc. and Driller Supply were having the greatest success but when they reached 860 feet (262 meters), a basketball-sized chunk of their drill bit broke off and blocked the hole.\u00a0 Starting over would probably have left the 33 underground until Christmas but in a small miracle, they were able to snag the piece out and continue this bore hole.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The day they were able to clear the hole coincided with the arrival of The Virgin Mary.\u00a0 Pope Benedict XVI blessed the statue he commissioned Ecuadorian artist Ricardo Villalba to carve from wood.\u00a0 Some feel that the presence of the Virgen del Carmen, the patron saint of Chile and the spiritual guide to the soldiers who fought in the War of Independence against Spain, had something to do with the drill team recovering the broken drill bit that was blocking their way.\u00a0 The statue was meant for the country\u2019s bicentennial.\u00a0 It was on tour of northern Chile when it was carried onto the mine property inside a glass case.\u00a0 The Catholic miners below felt the Virgin had interceded on their behalf when the bore hole had been cleared of the 26 pound drill bit.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The American team was led by Jeff Hart who had been summoned from Afghanistan where he had been supervising a project drilling water wells.\u00a0 When the Chilean Minister of Mines paid a visit to the mine, he asked Hart why he kept one foot on the drill rig when it was working.\u00a0 Hart explained that it helps him \u2018feel\u2019 the drill.\u00a0 The diorite they were drilling through was harder than they first anticipated.\u00a0 To prevent clogging the hole with a broken bit again, they had to monitor it closely.\u00a0 The team found they needed to change the drill bits out every 10 to 20 meters they drilled.\u00a0 To speed the process, they allowed drill water and pulverized rock to simply flow down through the 15 inch bore they were following.\u00a0 The trapped miners below were more than happy to assist by making sure this material was moved away from the site.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0An impatient group of four miners drove up to Level 190 intent on finding a passage through the safety tunnels (called \u2018chimneys\u2019) to the surface.\u00a0 After squeezing through a small opening at the top of one chimney, Florencio Avalos found a chasm so wide his miner\u2019s light could not find the opposite side.\u00a0 They returned to the refuge to report the news and were sternly lectured from the surface rescue team for their efforts:\u00a0 \u201cDo not try that again.\u00a0 It is just too unstable and too dangerous.\u201d\u00a0 The four who made the attempt had to agree.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While the bore hole was being driven downward, the Chilean Navy began constructing the capsule that would bring the men to the surface one at a time.\u00a0 It was based on a design used previously in Europe with engineering help from NASA.\u00a0 NASA dubbed it the \u2018EV\u2019 (Escape Vehicle) and it contained a harness to hold the miner in place, oxygen, communications equipment, and sets of retractable wheels.\u00a0 The wheels would make the EV\u2019s trip through the bore hole smoother and allow the rescue team to retract them should they jam on loose rock or irregularities in the escape bore hole.\u00a0 After a few short test runs of the \u2018Fenix\u2019 (Phoenix), it was time to send one man down before the others would start coming up.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Manuel Gonzales was picked from a small group of rescuers to be the inside man.\u00a0 He began his 30 minute descent at 11:17 p.m. on October 12 knowing that if there was a serious malfunction, he would not survive the trip down (the equivalent of a 130 story building).\u00a0 The crane being used to lower and raise the Fenix was rated at 54 tons, some 100 times the weight of the capsule.\u00a0 When he reached the cavern at Level 135, Yonni Barrios opened the pod and embraced Gonzales who told the rest, \u201cThere\u2019s a (expletive deleted) of people up there waiting for you guys.\u00a0 You guys better not take advantage of me!\u00a0 Because there are two navy special-ops divers coming down after me and they\u2019re really good at fighting!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He continued, \u201cI\u2019m Manuel Gonzalez, a rescuer from El Teniente mine.\u201d\u00a0 He goes on to describe what they will experience on the way out of the mine:\u00a0 \u201cLook, you\u2019re going to feel a little swaying, don\u2019t be afraid of it . . . The change in pressure will be noticable.\u201d\u00a0 He checked the first passenger\u2019s blood pressure and found it a little high, but told Florencio Avalos, \u201cAh, it doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 This is all for legal purposes anyway.\u201d\u00a0 He runs down his checklist, straps Avalos in and before he departs, Florencio tells his fellow miners, \u201cWe\u2019ll see each other up on top.\u201d\u00a0 As he begins the ascent, he shouts back, \u201cIt feels good in here!\u201d\u00a0 At the surface, he is met by his wife and son.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Gonzales noted later the men he met down there looked primitive with rolled up shorts that looked like diapers and cut up boots.\u00a0 In the twenty four hours he would be in the mine, he also noted the primitive nature of the mine itself:\u00a0 \u201cThey were completely without protection.\u201d\u00a0 With no respirators or safety glasses and working in high heat and humidity, he thought the men\u2019s working conditions were \u2018inhuman\u2019.\u00a0 Though Gonzales would be the last to leave, Luis Urzua, the boss of the A Shift is the last miner out.\u00a0 Just as he had done his job to go to the deepest level of the mine to make sure all the miners were accounted for, he would be the last to leave knowing there would be no one left behind.\u00a0 Luis tells the president, \u201cAs the <\/span>jefe<\/span><\/i>, I hand over the shift to you,\u201d when he exits the mine for the final time.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After capturing the world\u2019s attention for 69 days, the 33 would each have to find their way in dealing with the aftermath.\u00a0 They were scheduled to meet regularly with psychologists, but most found the sessions did not help them.\u00a0 Invitations to visit places like Disneyland poured in and most of them took the opportunity to bask in the public adulation their captivity had ignited.\u00a0 It did not take long for many of them to begin to feel odd about their celebrity – they told everyone they were not \u2018heroes\u2019 but the curious public and press became suffocating.\u00a0 A famous Chilean celebrity had promised each miner a large cash sum and promised he would lead a fundraising campaign that would make them rich enough that they would not need to work again.\u00a0 This promise went unfulfilled as many assumed the book and movie deals that were sure to come would make them rich enough on their own.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The one thing that may have harmed their recovery was the agreement they made that none of them could talk about the 17 days they spent between the accident and the discovery that they were still alive.\u00a0 Thinking \u201call should profit equally\u201d from this part of their ordeal was logical, but it also meant they kept a lot of emotional issues bottled up.\u00a0 Depression and in some cases substance abuse issues surfaced for some of them.\u00a0 The\u00a0 group meetings they occasionally had to work out the details of getting their story out were mostly cordial, but some resentment and \u2018smack talk\u2019 behind the scenes developed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Chilean government eventually granted the oldest miners a retirement pension.\u00a0 The younger men were also offered a pension, but they turned it down.\u00a0 It would not have been enough for them to support their families.\u00a0 A few of the younger men were able to secure above ound jobs at other mines but this required them to move to other sites where the national mining company, Codelco, had operations.\u00a0 A few even found it within themselves to work underground again.\u00a0 As one of the men later said, \u201cThe worst thing to do in overcoming what had happened to them was to sit idle.\u201d\u00a0 Ariel Ticona was one who returned underground and described the experience:\u00a0 \u201cThe first day, I felt a little strange,\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t scared.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know, I just didn\u2019t want to be there.\u00a0 The second day, I got scared.\u00a0 I\u2019d hear the machines drilling, and it reminded me of when they were looking for us.\u00a0 By the fourth day, I was starting to like it.\u201d\u00a0 Ariel is one who had come full circle and was again risking his life to support a comfortable life for his family.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Author Hector Tobar asked former <\/span>jefe <\/span><\/i>Luis Urzua it it seemed to be, \u201can especially cruel twist of fate:\u00a0 to have one mine fall on top of you, and then to find yourself obliged to work under reound in a second mine.\u201d\u00a0 Urzua told him, \u201cThat\u2019s the life of a miner.\u201d\u00a0 The author also spent time with Alex Vega and his family after all was said and done.\u00a0 During this gathering, the family sang a song declaring Alex would soon be freed from his underground prison.\u00a0 They sang it\u00a0 at the encampment outside the mine the night before the miners were discovered alive.\u00a0 Vega (nicknamed \u2018El Pato\u2019) was amused to hear them sing it again – \u2018<\/span>And El Pato will return – he will return!\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Alex looked at all of them smiling at him when they finished the song and said, \u201cAnd here I am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Okay, now that they are safe, we can take a lighter look at working in a (coal) mine:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We left Part 1 of this story just as the surface rescue teams finally penetrated the lowest levels of the San Jose Mine.\u00a0 At this point, they had no idea if there were any survivors from the cataclysmic collapse that occurred on August 5, 2010. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was day seventeen before the drill rig labeled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3388"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3391,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388\/revisions\/3391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}