The first Chilean miner was brought to safety early Wednesday morning, October 13, 2010. At approximately 12:11 am Chile time (11:11 pm Eastern Standard Time) 31-year-old Florencio Avalos was brought up to safety.
Thirty three miners have been trapped underground since August 5, 2010. According to CNN, they were trapped in the San Jose mine. The 33 miners have been living together for 69 days in an area about the size of a standard college dorm room.
Chilean mine rescue
The men had been fighting to be rescued last, all saying that the others deserved to make it to safety first. It was finally determined that the healthier ones needed to go first so the capsule that was being used to rescue the miners could be tested on those who were fitter. The capsule is installed with camera, and it takes approximately 20 minutes for the journey from the mine to the surface.
Late Tuesday afternoon some last minute tests were administered to try and make the rescue as safe as possible. An access door was damaged during the test, and quickly fixed. Rescue worker Manuel Gonzalez went into the mine to help the miners make it up to safety. He descended to the refugee spot at 11:36 pm Chilean time. Avalos entered the capsule at 11:53 pm and the capsule began to lift at 11:55 pm. At 12:11 am he surfaced, and after greeting family he was escorted to an onsite medical facility.
At 12:24 a second rescuer, Roberto Rios went into the mine. Rios arrived at the site at 12:48 am. 40 year old Mario Sepulveda began the climb up to the surface at 12:55 am, and reached the surface at 1:09 am. At 1:39 am the third miner, 52 year old Juan Illanes beagn the climb to the surface. He reached the surface at 2:11 am.The time of print of this article is 1:15 am eastern standard time, 2:15 am Chilean time, and there are still 31 miners to be rescued. The capsule, which can only carry one miner at a time, take about 20 minutes to life from the mine to the surface.
It's been a long journey for these miners. They became entrapped on August 5, and after many complications the final steps to save them began on October 10. Not only were there technical difficulties, but there were also concerns in regard to the miners dealing with the light, air temperature and pressure after being down in a dark cold mine for over two months. The miners seem to be in remarkably good health and spirits, and they believe the last of the miners should be rescued by Wednesday afternoon.
Two miners rescued; 31 to go. (2010, October 13). Retrieved October 13, 2010, from CNN website:
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