New cave-in blocks bid to rescue Chile miners

[Judi Lynn]

New cave-in blocks bid to rescue Chile miners
By Alonso Soto Alonso Soto – 1 hr 55 mins ago

COPIAPO, Chile (Reuters) – A bid to save 33 miners trapped deep inside a small mine in northern Chile hit a major setback on Saturday, when a fresh cave-in blocked rescuers and relatives started to lose hope after an anxious two-day wait.

No contact has yet been made with the trapped miners since the collapse on Thursday at the small gold and copper mine near the northern city of Copiapo. Officials hope they managed to reach an underground shelter with oxygen and were rationing water and food.

Rescuers raced against time to think up other ways to reach the miners huddled in a space the size of a small apartment.

Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, his voice cracking, said rescuers would have to find another way in, which would eat up more valuable time more than two days into the crisis.

"The easiest, most logical way in is now blocked. Experts are going to have to find other alternatives, but those will be tougher and take longer," Golborne said, as miners' families gathered at the mine cried out.

He also revised down the number of trapped miners to 33 from 34, but did not explain why.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100808/wl_nm/us_chile_mine_accident

[rabs]

1. Pinera skipped the inauguration of JM Santos today

and flew back to Chile where tonight he is at the mine with the rescue workers and the families. It is thought that the miners may be in a shelter inside the mine that has a supply of water, food and oxygen. The biggest concern is that the oxygen may run out.

The rescue workers were 100 meters from where the miners are thought to be before the new cave in. Tonight it's back to zero for the rescue effort.

http://www.lanacion.cl/pinera-se-reune-con-familiares-de-mineros-atrapados/noticias/2010-08-07/215453.html

The link has a short video (top right) that shows the scene high up in the Atacama Desert.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Sound detectors in hunt for miners

Sound detectors in hunt for miners

Monday August 09 2010

Rescuers were preparing to lower sound-detection equipment into a northern Chilean gold and copper mine in an effort to locate 33 workers trapped there.

The listening devices would be lowered through holes drilled down into the mine in hopes of making contact with the workers, who were trapped on Thursday when a tunnel collapsed, said Rodrigo Jofre, who represents families of the 33 trapped miners.

The equipment should reach the bottom of the San Jose mine by Monday, rescue worker Luis Salazar said.

More:
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/sound-detectors-in-hunt-for-miners-2289476.html

[Judi Lynn]

3. Chile: President Seeks Foreign Help to Rescue 33 Trapped Miners

Chile: President Seeks Foreign Help to Rescue 33 Trapped Miners
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 9, 2010

With time running out for 33 miners trapped deep inside a gold and copper mine, President Sebastián Piñera of Chile appealed Monday for international help. The miners have been trapped more than 800 yards below the surface for four days, after the main access route collapsed under tons of falling rock. Rescuers had been working around the clock to reach the miners through a narrow air shaft, but on Saturday that, too, collapsed. Mr. Piñera said Chile had appealed to Peru, the United States, Canada and Australia for expertise. “If there is any technology, any knowledge that will help us,” he said, “we will use it.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/world/americas/10briefs-Chile.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

[Judi Lynn]

4. Hopes fade for trapped miners in Chile

Hopes fade for trapped miners in Chile
Published on 11 August 2010 - 11:04pm

Chilean authorities acknowledged Wednesday that hopes were fading fast of rescuing alive a group of 33 trapped miners despite rescuers' frantic efforts to reach them six days on.

There has been no word on the condition of the workers, who were trapped some 400 meters (1,300 feet) underground when the entrance to the San Esteban copper mine collapsed 800 kilometers north of Santiago.

Problems that searchers ran into as they dug a duct to try to reach the 33, left officials downbeat about chances that any may have survived.

Searchers were building six ducts simultaneously. One was almost half-way to the location authorities believe the miners are near when engineers realized they could not continue and would have to start over.

"First we have to establish contact with them and then look at possibilities for getting them out," said Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, who is leading rescue efforts.

More:
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/hopes-fade-trapped-miners-chile-0