Thrilling Chilean miners rescue was made for TV It was like a moon landing or the Super Bowl or the most gripping reality TV show you've ever seen. The rescue of 33 miners from what had seemed like their tomb below the Chilean desert was the culmination of a mythic tale of death and resurrection that briefly unified the world in awed delight.After 69 days — longer than some real-life reality TV shows — viewers were transfixed by a rolling climax of happy reunions.In an age accustomed to made-for-cable TV stories, "this was another level," says Rich Hanley, a journalism professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. "You didn't need to speak English or Spanish to understand what you were seeing."The story had elements that make for engrossing viewing or reading: men trapped underground; their anxious waiting families; a passionate nation; a resourceful, international rescue team. As it ended, there were laughs, hugs, tears and prayers.The rescue inspired those who work below ground and those who've worked far above it. Leroy Chiao, a former NASA astronaut who flew on three space shuttle flights, was impressed by the miners' teamwork and how they tried to improve their lives more than 2,000 feet underground, "which keeps your mind from going places you don't want it to go."At the other extreme was Ken Reinhart, a safety manager for Con Edison in New York City, who has inspected tunnels 10 stories underground. He felt a kinship with the miners: "It's something you always think about. Anyone who's ever been on an elevator lift that malfunctions knows a little bit of that feeling. It hits you, how far underground you are."About 8.5 million viewers watched coverage of the first rescue late Tuesday on the three major cable networks, compared with an average audience for the preceding three hours of 6.2 million. CNN doubled its audience at 11 p.m. ET.Actor Michael Caine was "watching the happiest moment I've ever seen on TV," according to his Twitter feed. "Miracles do happen," tweeted pop singer Justin Bieber. David Blaine, the showman who in 1999 was entombed in an underground plastic box for seven days, told CNN the miners' survival was "absolutely mind-blowing."In New York, Chilean-born restaurant manager Jaime Rodriguez felt pride in his native land. Watching on his computer as the first miner surfaced, he says, "I cried a little bit." Seeing them emerge as if from death, "I felt a little like I was born again."The story had these classic elements:
A great story line Mine rescues are a staple of cable TV news. This was something else: Never had so many been trapped so low for so long and emerged alive."They were trapped underground, in a place like hell itself — claustrophobic, dark, fetid — and they come up like they were resurrected," says Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. "Western civilization doesn't come up with stories much better.""The story was building for 69 days," Hanley says. "Will they make it? We were all waiting for that capsule to come up."A big story early in the TV cable news era was the rescue of "Baby Jessica" McClure after the toddler fell into a well in Midland, Texas, in 1987. She was pulled up an 8-inch-wide casing after 58 hours. "This was Baby Jessica times 33," Thompson says.
Suspense Although the rescue team had taken elaborate precautions, the result was not pre-ordained. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, a miner like his father and grandfather, calls it "a rare blessing when the earth gives back up those that it has trapped."Davitt McAteer, former director of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, says a claustrophobic miner could have moved violently during the ascent and jammed the capsule; the cable could have snagged; or the rig pulling the cable could have overheated."You can be good and you can be lucky. And they've been good and lucky," he says.In such cases, things can go either way.In 2002, nine miners were rescued after being trapped underground for 78 hours at the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pa. Coming less than a year after the 9/11 attacks, the miners' survival seemed like a national morale boost.In 2006, a coal mine explosion at Sago, W.Va., trapped 13 miners for nearly two days. Although many news organizations — relying on incorrect, unofficial information — reported that 12 survivors had been found alive, only one survived.And this year, on April 5, 29 miners were killed at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Montcoal, W.Va., the worst accident of its kind in the U.S. in 40 years. One of the two survivors was Stanley Stewart, who was watching the Chile drama on television.He cheered the miners' rescue but feared for their recovery. "After the initial joy they'll have some issues they'll have to deal with," he told CNN. "Flashbacks ... nightmares. They'll still need help."He said he spoke from experience: "The best part of me's still up on that mountain. I want me back."
Good news in a time of bad "We have a good-news deficit in this world," says Kitty Thurmer, 56, of Washington, D.C., for whom the mine rescue evoked America's pride in the moon landing in 1969. "This is a human, tactile event we can share electronically. It's a shared joy."Had the accident occurred in the United States, its coverage might have been different — characterized by discussion of possible mining company infractions or government regulatory failings. But the Chilean news media focused on the positive."This was in sharp relief to things like the response to (Hurricane) Katrina, or to political attack ads," Hanley says.
The cast of characters The miners included some memorable personalities. "Super Mario" Sepulveda was the second miner to emerge. His shouts were heard even before the capsule rose above the surface, and he bounded out of the lift and thrust a fist upward like a boxer. He hugged his wife and handed out souvenir rocks from the mine to laughing rescuers.Yonni Barrios, dubbed "Dr. House," had paramedic training that allowed him to help care for his fellow miners. He's also known for his complicated personal life; his wife and his mistress had met while waiting at the mine site.Omar Reygadas, an electrician who helped organize life underground, became a great-grandfather for the fourth time a month after the mine collapse.Mario Gomez, at 63 the oldest of the men and a miner since age 12, dropped to his knees after he emerged from the Phoenix capsule, bowed his head in prayer and clutched the Chilean flag.They were men to whom anyone with a father or brother or son could relate."I have kids," said Nina Snow, 35, a mother of three from Potomac, Md., who watched on a huge TV screen outside the Chilean Embassy in Washington. A tear ran down her cheek. "If anything happened to my husband — it's so amazing " she said. Beyond that, she couldn't find the words.
Chilean pride The crisis united Chile. Its pride was infectious.Arturo Fermandois, Chile's ambassador to the U.S., says his nation was proud of the technical and professional prowess demonstrated in the rescue. "This rescue was led by a team formed entirely by Chileans," he says. "The engineers, the miners and most of the technology is Chilean."The crisis was an opportunity, he says, "a window to show the world the quality of Chileans. Sometimes it's difficult to show how good Chileans are, how good are our professionals."No one represented the country better than the miners, he says: "When we found them after 17 days, we found them in good condition because they were able to organize themselves. They managed not to eat all the food, and in a peaceful way."
Exceptional media access Viewers were able to see live video from within the mine, and shots of miners' relatives, including children, before and during the reunions.Juan Carlos Troncoso, a manager at a Chilean TV station broadcasting the rescue, says the Chilean government granted the news media access that seemed unusual by U.S. standards.Troncoso's wife, Soledad Urzua, on vacation with him in Washington, said the Chilean public demanded it: "We, the public, wanted to know their daily lives, how they eat, how they're living day to day. In Chile, it's always like that. When there's an earthquake, people want to know."Hanley says the coverage reflected Chilean President Sebastian Piñera's background in television. "You would not have seen this kind of access in China," which has been plagued by mine deaths, he adds. "There might have been just one feed, and it might have been delayed or edited."
An engineering feat "It was a triumph of engineering and can-do," says Hanley. And it had an American angle. The rescue operation included a driller operator from Denver and a team from Berlin, Pa., that built and managed the piston-driven hammers that pounded the hole through quartz and silica.Yet even after the last miner was lifted to safety, the drama's ending was unwritten. Having survived below, how would the 33 fare above?There will be contracts for book and movie deals, job offers, personal appearances and speaking engagements — all of which could bring them previously unfathomable riches."Before being heroes, they are victims," University of Santiago psychologist Sergio Gonzalez told the Associated Press. "These people who are coming out of the bottom of the mine are different people ... and their families are, too."Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.
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