The Survival of The Chilean Miners

It has been 36 days since the San Jose mine, situated in the Atacama Desert some 500 miles north of Santiago, collapsed, trapping 33 miners some 700 metres underground. The previous record for time spent trapped in a mine was the 25 day period endured by Chinese miners last year, with few other instances lasting more than two weeks.

It was only 15 days following the initial disaster that contact was made with those trapped in the Chilean mine. Visual and audio confirmation of their survival came via an emotional series of video messages in which the miners expressed equal measures of gratitude for their prospective rescuers, and a desire to reassure their families and friends of their safety.

Over the past month or so, the miners have devised and implemented social, cultural, and occupational systems. Responsibilities have been delegated amongst the men, with all reporting to Luis Urzua, the shift foreman at the time of collapse. Environmental assistants, medical officers, and even a poet have been appointed in a campaign to create a stable and normative temporary community.

Jonny Barrios, whose advanced first aid training has led to his new role as the primary medical officer in the collapsed mine, has already been able to vaccinate all 33 men against diphtheria, tetanus, and pneumonia. However, with the recent rise in health problems faced by the makeshift mining community, Barrios has employed the help of Daniel Herrera in the role of assistant paramedic to assist in the everyday medical duties.

Guidance for Barrios comes from above, in an hour-long consultant call each afternoon with the Chilean government's medical team. As well as medical advice, the miners receive food, medical supplies, letters, and other equipment via small holes bored through the 2,300 feet of rock to reach their underground shelter. Due to the distance the items have to travel, it can take up to an hour for parcels to arrive.

The rescue programme requires the men to fit through a 26 inch bore hole which will take them above ground. As such, it is the responsibility of the men to remain vigilant of their size whilst trapped. In order to weigh themselves, a set of scales is to be sent down to the mine, however, engineers are still working on a design small enough to fit through the small tubes through which other parcels reach the miners. This exercise in oversized parcel delivery is just one of a variety of problematic issues facing the rescue team.

Work began on the drilling of the rescue shaft on the 30th August, and was expected to be completed in no less than 16 weeks. As such, the miners may not see daylight until late December or early January, a thought which can only be kept at bay by the constant occupation of their minds and bodies, as well as words of comfort from family members waiting for them 700 metres up.