33 Chilean Miners Survive 17 Days Trapped in Mine

Photo Credit: Aliosha Marquez/AP Images

August 23, 2010

All 33 Chilean miners were found alive after 17 days of entrapment when a video camera probe was sent down 2,257 feet into the collapsed mine.

The video captured about 9 survivors waving happily in the sweltering underground heat, the Associated Press reports. Although audio has not yet been established, the probe came back up with a note saying, “All 33 of us are fine in the shelter.”

Chile's President excitedly waved the note for the public sparking great excitement nationwide.

People celebrated this news by planting 33 Chilean flags near the collapsed mine site and singing the national anthem. Across the coast, other Chileans also celebrated the great news.

There was a barbeque for the miners' families with roving musicians, candles and flags that lit up the barren environment.

Experts believe that it may take up to 4 months to rescue the miners from their underground trap.

The miners' survival after 17 days is extraordinary. Frequently, miners only last a few days in a collapsed mine. Exceptions include two miners who survived 23 days in northern China in 1983, and 3 men who survived 25 days trapped in a flooded mine in southern China last year.

Now that the Chilean miners made it this far, they should emerge as survivors alive and well, a leading U.S. Mine safety expert told the AP.

“I am OK thanks to God. I hope to get out soon,” wrote Mario Gomez, 63, trapped in the mine. Patience and faith have kept the miners calm and hopeful for rescue.

Chileans have been glued to their computers and televisions as news unfolds about these survivors. They must now anxiously wait for the final rescue of these miners to come.