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Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

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Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

A small copper mine in San Jose, located in north Chile, collapsed trapping workers underground. The mine collapsed on August 5th, trapping 33 workers in the mine.
The coverage of this mine collapse came two long weeks after the traumatic event. Initially the incident did not catch any news worthy attention. Mine collapses are pretty common but the accident finally caught the interest of an editor, and then it went viral from there.
The mine is approximately 300 meters deep. Rescuers had to drill a second hole to locate workers but there was no confirmation of any active life underground in the initial survey of the situation. There was a limited supply of what the miners would need down there such as water, food, and oxygen and it had been 4 days since the mine collapsed. There was a lot of speculation as to whether workers would be alive down there with the limited resources but rescuers worked at a non-stop pace to get to the trapped miners in hopes that there were survivors. A second cave-in the Saturday after the initial collapse, delayed rescuers for approximately 3 additional hours before they could resume their rescue efforts.
The accident trapped workers for over two months at depths up to 2000 feet below ground. A tunnel gave way and the story was seen around the world as a miracle. The worldwide coverage was intense showing every detail of what
Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

the rescue team went through to get to these trapped miners. Over 1,000 news reporters and journalists from all over the world covered the story. The coverage became more intense when a rescue worker surfaced with a note from the trapped miners telling the world that they were all ok. The families were ecstatic to hear this news. There was a wave of relief from the families to the mine officials to the reporters. Many of the family members of the trapped miners had gathered at the mine and didn’t want to leave without hearing good news. These family members would take turns at the mine site to distribute the burden and stress of waiting and wondering if their loved ones were okay.
Mining has always been known to be a dangerous profession. Most often, the people that die in mining accidents are unknown to the world as the single one off situation does not even make the new or hit the headlines. It is a fairly common incident that a life is lost in a mine and if every incident were reported, it would be in the news constantly. Since this was a major mine collapse with a large number of people that were trapped, it finally made the news.
When the miners were safely rescued, their lives had been changed forever. They became heroes in the spotlight of all the news media and the interest that the public had in them. There will be some stress put on them because the media, news, and others will want to speak to them and interview them. The after effects of the stress of this situation are very difficult and it will

Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

affect each miner differently. No one knows the extent of the trauma that the trapped workers went through when they were underground in a confined space. The government of Chile, knowing the damaging mental circumstances that could occur by being kept in a small space for a long period of time, requested the help of a NASA team of doctors. These doctors did report back that the miners were in good moods.
Over the years, there had been several accusations of unsafe working conditions for the miners before this accident but nothing had been proven. The mine had been closed for 3 months in 2007 for a fatal accident but opened a year after that accident. The President of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, has promised a complete investigation into the accident. Mine officials indicated they would report any findings after the investigation.
After 69 long and grueling days, the first of the trapped miners were brought up one by one. Once everyone had emerged from the mine, everyone rejoiced at the good fortune at the lives that were not lost. This changed the lives of the trapped miners; they were thrown into the spotlight with interviews and attention. What was the most important thing is that all 33 of the miners were rescued and were healthy and unharmed.

Chilean Copper Mine Collapse

References

Weik, J. (2010). Over 30 workers trapped after Chilean copper mine collapse. Metal Bulletin Daily, (224), 65.

Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert. (2011). Publishers Weekly, 258(24), 51.

Volk, S. S. (2011). Refusing to Hear: Press Coverage of the Chilean Miners. NACLA Report On The Americas, 44(4), 54.

Spotts, P. (2010, September 7). Trapped miners impress NASA team. Christian Science Monitor. p. N.PAG.

Appendix A: Communication to the Family
Communication Type-Video (Due to everyone not being able to be present)

We are very sorry to have to report that there has been a collapse in the mine. There have been no explosions, no fires, or anything of that nature so we are very confident that everyone is ok down in the mine. There are 33 miners that are trapped and we have already started the rescue efforts. We have a list of the miners that are trapped and we are releasing that information if you don’t already know if your family member is down there. Family can gather in the lunchroom here to wait for any updates and any new information as it is received from the rescue workers.

What we do know is that there is being a second mine being dug right beside the first one. Rescue workers will be going down to pinpoint the area where the miners were last working. They will dig to get to the miners and bring them up that way.

There has been a pipe inserted into the mine so some fresh air can be forced down there and also food, water and other necessities will be taken down there. We will be updating you as soon as we get any new information. We are very sorry for this event that has happened and we will do everything in our power and we are very confident that we can being everyone up safely to their families.

Wages and benefits will continue to be paid so please do not worry about that. If you have any questions, please contact me anytime, day, or night.

Please feel free to stay here as long as you want or have family member stay here as long as you want. We will be bringing information in here periodically and will deliver as much as we possibly know.

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