COPIAPÓ – The families of 33 trapped miners were in high spirits yesterday after a surge in the drilling of escape tunnels raised hopes that the men’s rescue may come sooner than scheduled.
Relatives hugged and yelled “Viva Chile!” as officials reported one of the rescue drills made twice the expected progress yesterday.They promised the families that preparations for the rescue effort on the surface would be ready by October 12th, and they are planning for the possibility the miners could be pulled up nearly a month ahead of the official schedule.
But the officials also urged caution, warning that unforeseen problems could slow the work.
A siren sounded at 5pm on Tuesday in the camp where families have held a vigil since a rock collapse blocked the mine’s exit shaft on August 5th.
Then, rescue workers came down to report that the “Plan B” drill had reached 984ft deep, nearly halfway to its goal, after advancing 243ft on Tuesday, more than twice as fast as expected. At that pace, the drill could break through to the miners in about five more days, and be reinforced with a metal sleeve before October 12th.
Three drills are pounding through hard rock below the Atacama desert. “Plan B” is a US-made T-130, operated in consultation with a team from Pennsylvania that had experience in the 2002 Quecreek mine disaster, where a similar tunnel was carved to pull out nine trapped coal miners. – (AP)