Miners show spirit with anthem chorus
Raising hopes further, a second bore hole punched into the chamber where the miners are entombed, and a third probe was nearing the spot yesterday.
After parcelling out tiny bits of food and drinking water carved from the mine floor with a backhoe for 18 days, the miners were getting glucose and rehydration tablets to restore their digestive systems. Capsules carrying oxygen also were sent down through a six-inch (15 centimetre) bore hole to help the men survive the hot, stuffy, humid conditions in the lower reaches of the gold and copper mine.
The bore holes also will be used to lower communication lines and to provide ventilation, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said.
Meanwhile, the miners were sending up notes to their families in the same supply capsules yesterday, providing solace to people who have held vigil in the chilly Atacama desert since the August 5 collapse.
Above ground, doctors and psychological experts are debating how to keep the miners sane during the estimated four months it will take to dig a tunnel large enough to get them out of the safety chamber 2,200 feet (670 meters) underground, where they have been buried since August 5.
Through a newly installed communication system, the miners told authorities Monday afternoon that they had used a backhoe to dig for trapped water and ate sparingly from their few supplies.
“They had two little spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk and a biscuit every 48 hours,” said Dr Sergio Aguilar, a physician on the rescue team.
Aguilar did not say how long those meager supplies lasted after the landslide that caused a tunnel to collapse inside the San Jose gold and copper mine about 850 kilometres north of Chile’s capital, Santiago.
Officials released a portion of the recording of the dialogue, in which miners are heard singing Chile’s national anthem.
Earlier on Monday, each man spoke and reported feeling hungry but well, except for one with a stomach problem, a Chilean official said. The miners asked for toothbrushes.
Officials said they were implementing a plan that includes keeping the miners informed and busy.
“They need to understand what we know up here at the surface, that it will take many weeks for them to reach the light,” Health Minister Jaime Manalich said.
Packages, which are about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and take about an hour to descend from the surface, hold rehydration tablets and a high-energy glucose gel to help the miners begin to repair their digestive systems.
Actual food will be sent down in several days, after the men’s stomachs have had time to adjust, said Paola Neuman of the medical rescue service. Rescue teams also sent oxygen. Miners had complained there was not enough air in the stretches of the mine below where the main shaft collapsed.
The shelter is a living room-size chamber off one of the mine’s lower passages far from the collapse. It is easily big enough for all 33 men, and the men also can walk around in tunnels below where the rocks fell. The temperature where they are is about 32-34º C.
Rescuers also sent down questionnaires Monday to determine each man’s condition, along with medicine and small microphones to enable them to speak with their families during their long wait. Rescue leader Andre Sougarret said officials are organising the families into small groups to keep their talks as orderly as possible.
