Trapped miners not told rescue will take 4 months

The 33 Chilean miners trapped 700 metres underground by a tunnel collapse 20 days ago are not to be told it will take four months to rescue them. The engineer heading the rescue, Andres Sougarret, said he had decided to keep the full extent of the wait secret.

As The First Post reported yesterday, it could take until Christmas to drill a shaft wide enough to haul the miners up. It now transpires that the men have no idea just how long they will have to endure in the cramped, hot conditions of the mine.

An initial rescue attempt based on an existing ventilation shaft failed when it collapsed on 7 August, two days after the original rock fall. Instead, rescuers drilled an 8cms-wide borehole from the surface, which reached the men on Sunday.

A data link has now been set up down this hole, allowing verbal communication with the miners, as well as images of the men. They sang the national anthem and chanted ‘Viva Chile’ after the link was established.

The Times reports today that the men have been able to move from the 52 square-metre refuge where they were holed up into a neighbouring tunnel which is better ventilated.

They have survived so far on meagre rations - two tablespoons of tuna fish and half a cup of milk every 48 hours. After two days of taking glucose solution and hydration gels lowered down the borehole, they will soon be given solid food.

Meanwhile, the owners of the mine have warned they face bankruptcy because of the tunnel collapse – and, to add insult to injury, may not be able to pay the trapped men’s wages. However, an eccentric billionaire mine-owner has sent a cheque for $10,000 to the family of each miner.

Philanthropist Leonardo Farkas, a former cruise ship piano player who sports a bottle-blond mullet perm hairstyle, said: “When they’re rescued, I’m going to throw a party.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this item was posted, the Chilean health minister Jaime Manalich has announced that the trapped miners have now been told that their rescue could take four months. The men reacted calmly to the news, he said. ·