New York Times: Video and Messages From Collapsed Mine in Chile

Colaboración de Javier L.C.



Rescuers in Chile were overjoyed on Sunday when a video probe into a collapsed mine showed one of the trapped miners alive. This report from Britain’s Channel 4 News shows the video and the scenes at the surface when two notes from the miners trapped below reached the surface.

Updated | Monday | 4:23 p.m. As people across Chile celebrated the news on Sunday that 33 miners trapped underground were still alive, video from inside the mine surfaced.

The footage, broadcast by CNN Chile and other networks, was taken with a small camera that was sent underground after rescuers had retrieved a handwritten message from the miners that said they were all alive and in a shelter. The note was tied to a probe that had been lowered earlier in the day.

The footage was grainy and brief but it showed the top half of a miner’s face. The unidentified miner was conscious and apparently in good spirits.

Chilean authorities told reporters they hoped to send microphones into the mine to communicate with the miners directly. They are also in the process of sending down food, medicine and other supplies. Rescuers had hoped to remove the miners sooner, but authorities said that because of complications — the depth of the mine and its instability — it could take several months before that happens. The workers have been trapped since Aug. 5, when part of the mine collapsed.

The fate of the miners had been uncertain until Sunday, when rescuers received the first note from the men, which was written in red ink and read, “The 33 of us are fine in the shelter.”

A second note that came up a short time later was written by a miner identified as Mario Gomez and was addressed to his family. The Chilean president, Sebastián Piñera, who was present, handed the note to the miner’s wife.

The Chilean newspaper La Tercera is posting live updates on the rescue effort on its Web site.

Artículo original