The Great Chilean Mine Rescue

[kobass]

Hmmm. Did a search, couldn't find anything. The world is rooting for these guys. Hopefully some good news for a change, and quite the engineering feat as well.

Thoughts and prayers for a successful outcome!

[Jerose]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsuAbTTsV8

That needs to be on repeat during the whole process.

[bassrique]

After two loooong months....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/wo...e.html?_r=1&hp

Rescuers Lower Escape Capsule in Test at Chilean Mine
By SIMON ROMERO

SAN JOSÉ MINE, Chile — Chilean officials on Tuesday night began a test run of a capsule designed to rescue 33 trapped miners whose two-month struggle for survival has inspired the nation and riveted the world.

The capsule was being sent unmanned down a narrow, nearly half-mile shaft to the haven of the trapped men in the collapsed mine here. If the capsule reaches the men successfully, workers plan to raise the capsule, still empty, before lowering a rescuer down the shaft in the next run. Eventually, the capsule is to raise the 33 miners, one at a time, to the surface of the earth.

Each leg of the trip could take as little as 11 minutes, but each round trip could take an hour, and that is if all goes well.

The Chilean mining minister, Laurence Golborne, appeared before cameras Tuesday evening, to say that a test of the capsule would begin shortly, but the start of the actual rescue was about two hours away. The capsule, he said, was still being readied, and a communication system had to be finalized.

The relatives’ makeshift tent city, Camp Hope, vibrated with a carnival-like atmosphere. “The day has finally arrived,” said Marta Mesías, 51, the aunt of one the miners, Claudio Yáñez, 34. She said she had traveled here from the capital, Santiago, to greet Mr. Yáñez when he emerges from under the earth. “We’re going to toast him with champagne, and feed him a bit of roasted chicken.”

The hundreds of journalists who have been crowding into the area have been broadcasting live reports and phoning in news feeds, as officials made hopeful and patriotic declarations to a country — and a world — captivated by the resilience of men who have survived under thousands of feet of rock for 69 days. Chilean television maintained a live feed of the scene, and some towns in the country gathered around large-screen televisions in growing excitement.

Rescuing the miners has been an obsession for President Sebastián Piñera and his government, which has spared no expense, technological consultation or innovation — and has been rewarded with a national boost of popularity. Mr. Piñera, a billionaire businessman, arrived at the camp by helicopter in the late afternoon.

“Today I feel incredibly emotional — the same way that all Chileans feel,” the Telegraph of London quoted him as saying.

The Bolivian leader, Evo Morales, was also expected. One of the miners is a young Bolivian who has become a hero back home.

The miners’ ordeal has presented Mr. Piñera, one of Latin America’s most conservative leaders, and Mr. Morales, one of its most radical, a high-profile opportunity to ease political tensions between their countries.

Laurence Golborne, Chile’s now very popular mining minister, said at a crowded, televised news conference here this afternoon that the first rescue would occur “toward the end of the day,” in the “last quarter” of Tuesday. Mr. Golborne cautioned that rescuing all the men would take about 48 hours. “We are not about declaring mission accomplished,” he said.

“Accidents can happen,” he also said, “but we trained a lot and we feel that we are very well prepared, and you will see the result of this preparation.”

The 13-foot capsule is faced in part with a green-painted metal mesh, meant to offer some give in the twists and turns of the escape shaft. It has oxygen tanks and a hands-free phone system.

The emerging men will be shielded from the crush of news media as they emerge, with only a government photographer and Chile’s state television channel permitted access, The Associated Press reported. A 30-second transmission delay in the video feed being broadcast to the public is to control for the unexpected.

News organizations in the United States planned large-scale coverage. CNN said its news shows would feature extensive coverage throughout the night and into Wednesday morning. MSNBC planned live broadcasts throughout the night. Fox News had an anchor on standby during the political shows that dominate its evening programming, with more anchors lined up through the night.

The broadcast networks all have reporters at the site of the mine as well, for their morning shows and evening newscasts. CBS and NBC said they would update their nightly newscasts for each time zone with the latest information about the miners.

“It’s fair to say the whole world will be watching,” the NBC correspondent Kerry Sanders wrote on msnbc.com Monday. “I can’t predict my reaction, but like the families who have held vigil here on the surface, I’m excited.”

He added, “Isn’t it about time we all shared some good news?”

As the vast team of rescue workers, medical personnel, technicians and mining experts prepared to enter the final phase, the colorful scene reflected the huge scale of the operation that has captured the attention of the world: more than 1,400 journalists, together with anxious and elated family members of the miners, gathered to witness the rescue.

Hundreds of journalists swarmed family members for comments. Signs proclaiming “Strength, Miners!” dotted the camp, as red, white and blue Chilean flags waved wildly in the sunshine.

Against this backdrop, Mr. Golborne maintained a tone both calmly optimistic and cautious. Tests on the stability of the capsule were carried out on Monday, he said, and tests on the lifting system still have to be conducted in the next few hours on Tuesday before the rescue can begin. “The capsule has not gone down all the way to the floor of the mine,” he added.

The gold and copper mine, near the northern city of Copiapó, caved in on Aug. 5, and there was no word on the fate of the miners for 17 days. But when a small bore hole reached the miners’ refuge, they sent up a message telling rescuers they were still alive.

On Saturday, a more sizeable drill finally broke through to the miners, making way for a rescue shaft through which the miners will be raised, one by one, in the narrow escape capsule. The American who led the successful drill effort returned to the United States on Tuesday. Brandon Fisher, the owner of Center Rock Inc. of Berlin, Pa., told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he and his team decided their work was done.

“Everyone wanted to be there who drilled that hole,” he said. “But we had to do the right thing and back off.”

As the start of the rescue drew closer, word spread that the first miner to be raised would be Florencio Ávalos. La Tercera, the Chilean newspaper, quoted his mother, María Silva, as saying that he was “very anxious.” The BBC reported that he is married, with two children. A foreman, he worked at the San Jose mine for eight years.

The second man, according to some reports, will be Mario Sepúlveda, 39, who was the spokesman on the first video taken of the men in the days after they were first found alive.

The Bolivian, Carlos Mamani, 24, may be the fourth man.

The last is now expected to be Luis Urzúa, 54, a leader of the miners during the entire ordeal

[iamlowsound]

The engineering involved in this project is completely fascinating to me. I am glad that they are getting out starting tomorrow.

lowsound

[MIJ-VI]

*crosses fingers*

[Mazatleco17]

2 miners rescued so far

[MIJ-VI]

Good!

[Schlyder]

3rd one on the way up.

[MIJ-VI]

I hope that all of the kids affected by this get their dads back safe & sound.

[Dr. Cheese]

It has got to be nerve wracking waiting for a loved one to get out that mine!

That have my sincere prayers.

[GregC]

Three men up now.

Streaming video and clips of the first two surfacing here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809...cas/?gt1=43001

[MIJ-VI]

"Dramatic stuff. BBC and CNN have live video feeds."

8 miners rescued so far...

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Lets hope they all get out ok

[Komakino]

I think it's fantastic. What a testament to human tenacity, persistence, ingenuity and courage. This sort of thing makes you feel good to be alive.

[MIJ-VI]

There's a lot more left to come up. ETA two days yet...

[Komakino]

Originally Posted by MIJ-VI

There's a lot more left to come up. ETA two days yet...

Can't be as long as that - they're a third of the way there and it's taken only 12 hours. 24 hours should be more than enough to get the rest of them.

[MJ5150]

I think I'd wait for a bigger tunnel to be dug. There ain't no way I'm getting in that tiny tube and riding in it for 20 minutes.

-Mike

[bass12]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I think I'd wait for a bigger tunnel to be dug. There ain't no way I'm getting in that tiny tube and riding in it for 20 minutes.

-Mike

Says Mike, from the comfort of his living room.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by Komakino

Can't be as long as that - they're a third of the way there and it's taken only 12 hours. 24 hours should be more than enough to get the rest of them.

It is a one hour round trip, 33 miners. That makes for 33 hours total if everything goes smoothly.

lowsound

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I think I'd wait for a bigger tunnel to be dug. There ain't no way I'm getting in that tiny tube and riding in it for 20 minutes.

-Mike

I bet the rescuers can give the trapped workers valium if they need it.