Chile's rescued miners recover, offers pour in - Reuters

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera (C) shakes hands with rescued miner Omar Reygadas as another rescued miner Luis Urzua (2nd R) watches after a photo session inside Copiapo Hospital, where the 33 rescued miners are undergoing full medical examination October 14, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Jose Manuel de la Maza/Chilean Presidency/Handout

By Cesar Illiano and Terry Wade

COPIAPO, Chile | Thu Oct 14, 2010 8:03pm EDT

COPIAPO, Chile (Reuters) - Chile's 33 rescued miners recovered from their two-month ordeal on Thursday as the offers and gifts that go along with their new celebrity status started to roll in, including an invitation to Graceland.

A day after their stunning rescue from deep inside a collapsed mine, the men underwent tests and received treatment in hospital, still wearing dark glasses to protect their eyes until they adapt to sunshine and bright lights.

Most of the miners were in surprisingly good health considering that they were stuck in a wet, hot and dark tunnel for 69 days.

The men, who set a world record for survival underground, were finally hoisted to the surface in a rescue operation that was watched by hundreds of millions of people worldwide and triggered celebrations across Chile.

One of the miners had pneumonia and was being treated with antibiotics, and others need dental treatment, but none were suffering from serious health problems and two or three might even be allowed to go home later on Thursday.

Experts said the most lasting damage could be emotional.

Between medical tests, the miners spent time with their families on Thursday and began looking at a flood of offers ranging from financial to musical.

Edison Pena, a fan of Elvis Presley, was invited to visit the Graceland mansion that was his home in Memphis, Tennessee and now serves as a museum to the rock and roll legend.

"We heard on the news that he's a huge Elvis fan," Graceland spokeswoman Alicia Dean told Reuters.

Pena's wife said the couple was very happy with the invitation but had not yet decided when the trip would be.

Real Madrid and Manchester United invited the miners, many of whom are avid soccer fans, to watch them play in Europe.

A flamboyant local singer-turned-businessman has given them $10,000 each, while Apple boss Steve Jobs has sent them all a latest iPod and a Greek firm has offered an islands tour.

The miners were also expected to receive job offers, advertising deals and possibly contracts to sell their stories for book and film projects.

In a complicated but flawless operation under Chile's far northern Atacama desert, the miners were hauled out one-by-one through 2,050 feet of rock in a metal capsule little wider than a man's shoulders.

It took 24 hours to pull out the 33 miners and six rescuers who had gone down the escape shaft to help the men get out.

I can’t believe that after they were rescued, they were flooded with offers from corporations wanting to make a buck from their ordeal.

Wakka Report As Abusive

Please allow them their well deserved 15 minutes of “fame”. I pray the changes now can be endured as well as their 69 day ordeal below.

tommytee Report As Abusive

I am sure they appreciated the offers. Writing memoirs must be easier than mining. Especially, being stuck in the mine.

It was a great rescue and I admire the president of Chile. We need one like him. He did not accuse anyone, but got to work and made sure they got out. They used a PA company and NASA technology, but at the end when the president thanked the countries that had offered help, there was no thank you for the USA. Sad. Our president must not have even called. Too busy campaigning, I guess. No class at all.

annnort Report As Abusive

Really. You can’t believe that? Welcome to the reality of today’s corporate greed.

In any case, this entire episode was a breath of fresh air in an increasingly depressing world. It was so uplifting to watch such a positive story develop and end. These guys deserve all the good things coming their way.

NewsJunkieToo Report As Abusive

The miners want to make a buck from their ordeal too, so don’t be naive or surprised. Wake up to reality.

Stryke Report As Abusive

I am so impressed with Chile’s President and First Lady as they stood by from beginning to end supporting the miners. I can’t help but to contrast them to our’s, knowing that Obama and his wife would not have done the same thing saying they would just be in the way. I hope the miners get many offers from the corporations!

madampolo Report As Abusive

Does anyone really not realize that the Chilean president did all the “standing by” for political reasons? This is not some kind-hearted old soul. He’s a politician and the former owner of the broadcasting company (which he just sold) that was managing most of the video. And to suggest what our president would or would not do is just juvenile. How do you know that President Obama didn’t call – just because it wasn’t aired? Get off the Republican soapbox for 5 minutes and discuss the miners – this is their ordeal.

maddy1001 Report As Abusive

I think they should read a very interesting book – “Moon Dust” by Andrew Smith, about what became of the men who landed on the moon. Many of the astronauts found the experience of isolation from life on the earth’s surface combined with the fame and scrutiny from the world’s media shaped their lives after they landed back on earth. Their lives were reshaped in unexpected ways, and not necessarily happily or beneficial.
I hope they readjust well and get back to normal without having to appear on “I’m a celebrity – get me out of here!” or any of the other media trappings.

Hhhughhhh Report As Abusive

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Thrilling Chilean miners rescue was made for TV - USA Today

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."

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Trapped Chilean miners 'could be freed by Saturday' - BBC News

7 October 2010 Last updated at 15:55 ET The "plan B" drill has been at work since late August One of three shafts being drilling down to the 33 men trapped in a mine in Chile should reach them by Saturday, the country's mining minister has said.

Laurence Golborne said the T-130 drill, known as "plan B", had already carved through 535m (1,755ft) of rock and had only 90m to go.

Once complete, engineers will assess how safe the shaft is before they can begin winching the men to the surface.

Mr Golborne said the miners should have to wait 10 days at most to be rescued.

"We expect to break through around Saturday," Mr Golborne told reporters, but warned the process could be slower if any of the drilling equipment needed to be changed.

The drill was briefly stopped on Wednesday so the mine hammer could be replaced.

Mr Golborne said the operation to winch the men out could not begin as soon as the shaft was complete.

Engineers would first need to assess whether it had to be coated with metal or was secure enough by itself for rescue capsules to be lowered down.

Health Minister Jaime Manalich called on the Chilean public to be patient while the complex process was carried out.

"All the drilling gear on top has to be removed, cranes installed, and the final rescue equipment has to be set up," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

"At least three or four more days will be needed, not counting the probable need of reinforcing all or part of the tunnel."

Mr Manalich also praised the "maturity and manhood" of the miners.

The capsules which will haul the miners out have arrived at the rescue site

"They are more relaxed and in control of the situation than we are on the surface," he said.

The men were trapped by a rockfall at the mine on 5 August.

Rescuers had almost given up hope of finding the men alive until they made contact with the miners 17 days after the accident and found they had sought refuge in a shelter some 700m underground.

The miners have now been underground longer than any group before.

When the time comes for them to be hauled out, rescue workers will go down into the mine to help them use the rescue capsules.

It is expected to take at least an hour to pull each of the trapped men to the surface - they will each be given sunglasses to protect them from the light, after spending two months with no natural light.

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