Early Tuesday evening, preparations and tests began for the rescue of the 33 miners trapped over 2000 feet underground. By midnight eastern, the rescue efforts had begun and the first miner, 31 year old Florencio Ávalos, was released.
Overnight and into the morning, the rescue has continued. NASA helped create a capsule that would take rescue workers (one at a time) down to the mine and the miners back up. CNN created their own version of the capsule, to show just how tight the fit is. The order of rescue was determined by the miners themselves, as well as the rescue workers. The first few miners were the strongest, in case something happened to the capsule and they had to escape. Then the weakest were to be sent up, followed by the men who could remain down the longest. Luis Urzúa, the final miner to be rescued, is considered the leader of the 33 miners.
For more information on the history of Chile, as well as the history of mining, both inside and outside of the United States, check out the display in the library.
Here are some links about the rescue, and ways to follow the events as they unfold:
- BBC News: live video and updates
- CNN: live updates and complete coverage
- Huffington Post: live video and updates
- Reuters: live video and updates
- Guardian: live updates
- New York Times: live updates
- Wall Street Journal: live updates
- Washington Post: timeline of the rescue
Other interesting links:
- Pictures of the first miner rescued (BBC)
- Information about Chile (State Department)
- National Mining Association (US)
- Mine Safety and Health Administration (US Department of Labor)
- Timeline of the miners, since being trapped (PBS)
- Profiles of the miners (BBC)
- Supplying the miners (BBC)
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
