Chilean Miners Rescue - Watch it Live

In about two hours, rescuers will begin winching up the first of 33 miners trapped for 2 months 700m underground. You can watch the rescue live at the link below.

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=90642&catid=37

Chilean Miner Rescue

Hours away. The rescue shaft is a mere 34 m from reaching the thirty-three miners, trapped some 700m below ground since August 5th.

It will still take three to eight days to rig up the rescue bucket and winch and those last days may feel like weeks to these brave souls. This most incredible story of fear, hope, and salvation in one of the world's most dangerous industries is at 64 days now, but the final chapter is upon us.

Godspeed.

Chilean Miners Update

Good news out of Chile for the 33 miners trapped 700m underground. Rescuers expect they'll be out sometime between mid-October and early November. Previous estimates had the rescue hole drilled by Christmas.

From the BBC.

Thirty-three miners trapped underground in Chile for nearly two months could be out sooner than thought.

Rescuers digging to reach the men say one of their drills has cut through 50m (164ft) of rock in 24 hours.

At that rate they could be ready to bring the men to the surface by the middle of October.

But they have warned that they could yet run into problems, and the government still says it could take until early November to get them out.

One of the three drills digging rescue shafts - the T-130 - has now penetrated more than 300m (984ft) of the 630m (2,066ft) of rock separating the miners from the surface.

"This headway is some of the best we have had and it is due to the better continuity we have had with this drill," Andrew Sougarret, the head of the rescue operation, said.

"We have reached 300m, which is the area where we have had the most unfavourable geological conditions, so hopefully we can think about maintaining this rhythm of drilling."

Chilean Miners

The story of the 33 Chilean miners trapped some 700 meters underground has had me on edge for weeks now. It was with jubilation that we heard they were found alive and with trepidation we heard it may be months until they could be rescued.

I read of their story every day, knowing that there will be that story one day, sometime before Christmas, where we see them emerge finally from the depths. This is one of the greatest human triumph stories of our times.

Today, the cage that will eventually pull the miners to safety one-by-one was delivered to the mine site.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11412845

A cage specially built to help rescue 33 men trapped underground in a mine in Chile has arrived at the mine head.

The steel capsule will be used to pull the men to safety one by one, once a rescue shaft wide enough to haul them up has been drilled.

Relatives of the miners were allowed to get into the narrow cage, which is little more than 50cm (20in) wide.

It is expected to take between 20-30 minutes to pull each miner up from their shelter at a depth of 700m.