Chile 33 miner rescue. Rescue of Chilean miners: a year later, euphoria gave way to despair

A year after the miraculous rescue of 33 Chilean miners who spent 69 days trapped in the rubble following the San Jose mine accident, the fate of some of them remains unenviable. 15 miners are still unemployed, while other colleagues suffer from lung disease, diabetes and feel deceived.

Tragedy with a happy ending

On August 5, 2010 - the day when the arches of the Chilean San José mine collapsed and 33 miners were buried at a depth of 700 meters - the then Minister of Mines of Chile Laurence Golborne, together with the country's President Sebastian Piñera, was on an official visit to El Salvador. There, among other things, a number of agreements in the mining sector were to be signed. The next day, by order of the head of state, the minister returned to Chile to lead the rescue efforts. It was officially believed that the miners were still alive. However, no one knew this for sure, and, perhaps, no one believed it.

Minister Laurence Golborne was everyone's favorite a year ago

“The first 17 days of the rescue operation were the most difficult. We had no confidence that they were still alive,” recalls Laurence Golborne, who now serves as minister, in an interview with Deutsche Welle public works. And only on August 22 it became known that all 33 miners were alive and unharmed. On October 13, the miners who survived a 69-day imprisonment at a depth of 700 meters - in a mine riddled with adits, the arches of which could collapse at any moment - were brought to the surface.

“The rescue of the miners was one of the most important events in my life. It was an incredible feeling to find out that they were alive and share this joy with everyone! We were always sure that this story would have a happy ending,” recalls Golborne.

After the successful rescue of the miners, the Minister of Mines, according to the Institute for the Study public opinion Ipsos, became the most popular politician in the country. Chilean President Sebastian Piñera also basked in the rays of his glory: according to opinion polls, 63 percent of Chileans would have voted for him in October 2010. However, Piñera's popularity did not last long: according to an October 2011 poll conducted by the public opinion research institute CERC, a year after the rescue of the miners, the president's approval rating dropped to 22 percent.

"Chilean method"

Chilean President Sebastian Piñera holds a message from the miners: "We are alive, all 33 of us"

Thanks to the media frenzy surrounding the rescue of miners from the San Jose mine - and this was reported from the scene by 2,000 journalists from around the world - the term "Chilean method" arose. It was used when they wanted to emphasize that this approach to problem solving guarantees success. It was important that Chile had an image abroad of an efficient and modern state- that’s exactly how the media presented it.

“The rescue of the miners united the whole country, we showed that we too can achieve our goals. This experience has no equal in history: a tragedy with a happy ending, the development of which live millions of people watched. This was proof of our unity and a symbol of hope for the whole world,” emphasizes Laurence Golborne.

Still in poverty

Chilean President with rescued miners

On August 5, 2011, 25 of the 33 rescued miners participated in a ceremony at the La Moneda government palace to mark the anniversary of the events at the San José mine. However, a year later, the miners' friendship came to an end. Four of them were invited to Washington for an exhibition dedicated to their miraculous rescue. Others are still trying to get compensation, gradually losing hope. They accuse their more fortunate comrades of profiting from their position and breaking the promise they made to each other 700 meters underground to stick together.

Today, 15 out of 33 miners remain unemployed. Many of them suffer from pneumoconiosis, diabetes and still have not recovered from psychological trauma obtained as a result of 69 days of underground imprisonment. Traveling around the world and promises made from all sides are a thing of the past. "They managed to see different countries and make some money. I don't know what else they could have achieved. I don’t think they were used for any personal gain, but their lives just returned to normal,” explains Carlos Vergara, a Chilean journalist from La Tercera newspaper. A year ago, he was one of those who covered the rescue operation of the miners. History miners in Chile, as Werkgar puts it, “has been and remains an endless and unchanging story of poverty.

The miners, who spent 69 days walled up in the mine, spoke of courage, hunger, prayer and fear of cannibalism, but swore some details to secrecy.

The Chileans, who spent 69 days underground, gave their first interviews.

Thus, explaining how he managed to maintain cohesion and faith in salvation among his comrades, shift supervisor Luis Ursu said: “You just have to tell the truth and believe in democracy.”

The shift manager said that all decisions were made by voting, according to the principle of a simple majority.

Authorities praise the miners as models of solidarity, but 23-year-old mechanic Richard Villarroel said it wasn't that simple. The worst thing was in the first 17 days - before the top. The miners expected a long and painful battle. Some lay down and refused to get up.

"We were trying to figure out what our options were and then we had to figure out food," Ursu told The Guardian. Food supplies were scanty, the daily ration was half a spoon of canned fish per person. According to Villarroel, at the first meeting they agreed to divide everything equally. When Villarroel was asked whether the miners were afraid of cannibalism, he did not immediately answer: “Nobody talked about it then, and then they started joking, but only when they found us, when the worst was behind us.”

Ursu ​​tried to instill stoicism in his comrades. “Every day he told us: take courage. If they find us, that means they will find us, but if they don’t find us, that means this is fate. The Boers were very far away, and we didn’t hope for anything. Courage came by itself. I had never prayed before, but here learned to become closer to God,” Villarroel said. The miners were divided into several teams: he and other mechanics kept the machines in order, others distributed the food.

According to Villarroel, when the miners believed that they would be saved, they swore on blood not to divulge everything that happened in the dungeons. Perhaps one of the secrets is the initial disunity of the group. In the first one, which the miners sent up, only 28 people appeared. The other five, including Villarroel, were nowhere to be seen.

Villarroel's father says his son was annoyed by his colleagues' "show off" in front of a video camera. When relatives sent personal video cameras to everyone, Villarroel and several others did not pick up theirs. According to rumors, three groups arose in the mine, and there were quarrels over living space and over working methods. There were even fights.

"The first test of the oath will be whether the miners will equally share proceeds from interviews, books, film rights and donations. They are rumored to have agreed to sign a legal contract to that effect," The Guardian writes.

Let us remind you that at a depth of 700 meters in a small mine located 50 kilometers from the Chilean city of Copiapo, it occurred on August 5th. 32 Chileans and one Bolivian were trapped underground.

On August 23, rescuers managed to reach the shelter where the miners were believed to be located. When rescuers pulled out the drilling apparatus, they found a note tied to the drill saying that all the miners were safe and sound.

• Mario Sepulveda, one of the miners, whose image was embodied on the screen by Antonio Banderas, met the actor at the very beginning of filming. Soon Sepulveda became the leader of a group of extras employed in the film.
• The music for the film was composed by James Horner, who did not live to see the August premiere for two months. “33” (2015) was the last film for which he composed the music. Back in 2015, Antoine Fuqua’s drama “Southpaw” was released with a musical theme written by James Horner.
• Due to the lack of work in their profession, the rescued miners joined technical staff crew of the film, which told about the accident at the San Jose mine near Copiapó on August 5, 2010.
• Juliette Binoche takes over from Jennifer Lopez as Maria Segovia.
• The film's director, Patricia Riggen, insisted that the actors speak English, as well as Spanish with a Chilean accent. For some actors, this turned out to be a difficult task.
• Mario Casas admitted in an interview that he cried after watching a documentary about these events.
• On February 7, 2014, four iPods and two Sony cameras Handycam. Fortunately, these cameras were not used for filming, so the footage was not lost.
• To add additional drama to the story, the storyline of the film includes stories of loved ones of some of the miners - for example, the daughter of Mario Sepulvera, played by Antonio Banderas, and the pregnant wife of Alex Vega, played by Cote de Pablo.
• The trailer for the film, released in the United States, features the song “Say Something” from the duo’s debut album “A Great Big World” (2013). The trailer, released in Chile, features folk singer Joan Baez's 1974 song "Gracias a la vida," or "Thank You to Life."
• The history of Chilean miners is mentioned in the television series “Entourage” (2004-2011), main character which actor Vincent Chase at one time had the idea of ​​adapting Hector Tobar's book into a film.
• Chilean President Sebastian Piñera hosted a reception for the film's creative team at the government palace in Santiago.
• While preparing for filming, Spanish actor Mario Casas missed the ceremony of presenting the National Film Awards of Spain.
• The film shows the age difference between President Sebastian Piñera, played by Bob Gunton, who is in his early 70s, and Minister Lawrence Golborne, played by Rodrigo Santoro, who looks to be in his 40s. In reality, Piñera was 60 years old in 2010, and Golborne was 49.
• Actress Cote de Pablo was born in the capital of Chile, Santiago.
• Mexican actor Marco Antonio Treviño, who played the role of Jose Enriquez, said in an interview: “Filming in the mine was incredibly difficult. The dirt, the feeling that we were written off as expendable, and working 12 hours a day.”
• President Piñera, played by Bob Gunton, is portrayed as a cold and calculating politician who is only interested in his own reputation and the image of his administration. When journalists asked the real president at the premiere in Santiago what he thought of his image in the film, Sebastian Piñera avoided answering directly. “I’d better go talk to Juliette Binoche,” he said.
• It was officially announced that “33” (2015) will be the first film whose authors will be partially reimbursed by the Colombian authorities for filming costs. The amount of payments will consist of 40% of all money spent on production and installation, and 20% of other expenses incurred in this country (hotel accommodation, food, transportation).
• In 1993, Bille August’s film “The House of the Spirits” was released, in which Antonio Banderas played. The film was based on the bestseller of the same name by Isabel Allende. This was her first novel, published in 1982. It also takes place in Chile.
• During an interview with Washington radio station Hot 99.5 in June 2013, Jennifer Lopez received a call from her agent on her cell phone, informing her that she had been cast in the film 33. The actress refused to discuss this in an interview. She only said that the film was “of no interest.”
• Jennifer Lopez agreed to participate in the filming, but soon left the project due to filming the American Idol program on the FOX channel.
• Attention! The following list of facts about the film contains spoilers. Be careful.
• The film shows that the President of Chile mainly monitors the progress of rescue efforts from his palace 800 kilometers from the site of the tragedy. At the same time, it is the president who shows reporters a note from the miners, and this happens almost immediately after it was found attached to the drill. This could be attributed to the laws of the genre, but the authors of the film did not sin against the truth. The note from the miners was actually read out to journalists by the president. He was warned that the drill might break through the roof of the shelter in which the miners were trapped, he flew to Copiapó, and the note was found while he was en route.
• Chilean actress Paulina Garcia played in the film the role of assistant to President Piñera, who in every possible way opposes the attempts of the Minister of Mining, Lawrence Golborne, to organize a rescue operation. This is a fictional character who simply adds drama to the story. However, many among Chilean politicians and those close to the president shared the opinion that rescue efforts were pointless.
• The film features Anderson Cooper, an American journalist, writer and television host, in a cameo role as a CNN news anchor. Subsequently, Cooper will invite Chilean miners to the filming of the “Heroes” program.
• The film shows that Alex Vega is the first to reach the surface and rushes to his wife and newborn daughter. In fact, Vega was the tenth miner to escape the mine.
• In the last scene of the film, a character named Franklin Lobos is missing.
• The film shows the escape capsule sinking into the ground empty. The miners enter it one by one, and the last to rise to the surface is Luis "Don Luco" Ursua. In reality, everything was not quite like that. When the capsule was lowered into the shaft for the first time, one of the rescuers named Manuel Gonzalez was in it. Gonzalez risked his life, because it was impossible to say with certainty whether the capsule was working or not in advance. It was Gonzalez who was the last to be lifted from the mine. Yes, Ursua was the last miner to rise to the surface, but Gonzalez still remained below. He helped Ursua climb into the capsule, and then waited until he was lifted to the surface and the capsule was lowered after him. Thus, it was Gonzalez who became the only person who spent some time at depth completely alone and who climbed into the capsule without outside help.

Chile is celebrating the completion of an operation to rescue miners who spent more than two months at a depth of 700 meters. All 33 miners were brought to the surface alive and well.

The rescue operation lasted 22 hours and 37 minutes.

Six rescuers went underground. They put the miners one by one in a predetermined order in a special capsule, which lifted the miners to the surface. All six rescuers also successfully climbed out of the mine, the Latin American Herald Tribune reports. Chilean Mines Minister Lawrence Golborne has already said that the cost of rescuing the miners cost more than $22 million.

The last of the miners, the media write, was the shift supervisor, 54-year-old Luis Ursua, who rose to the surface. He entered the capsule only when all his subordinates were saved.

During the 69 days that the miners spent underground, Ursua accomplished a huge organizational work. It was he who had to distribute supplies to three dozen people before food and water were lowered into the mine.

The rock collapse at the San Jose gold mine occurred on August 5th. For 17 days after the accident, nothing was known about the fate of the miners. All these days, the miners ate mainly canned tuna. Ursua also determined the daily routine of the miners: they stayed awake for 12 hours, then went to bed. For the prisoners, writes the Latin American Herald Tribune, this decision “gave a sense of normalcy.”

“Mr. Ursua, your shift is over,” the country’s president told the rising miner.

He called the shift manager “vitally important person" “Without you, salvation would have been impossible,” the president admitted. “I handed over my shift and hope this never happens again. I am proud of the rescuers, the miners, and all the people living in this country. I’m proud of Chile,” Ursua responded.

Before Ursua, 47-year-old Jose Ojeda came out of the mine. It was he who wrote a note in red pencil, “We are fine, there are 33 of us,” which helped rescuers find the walled-up miners. On the 17th day, a knock was heard on the drill bit, which the rescuers heard, then they found a note attached to the drill. Ojeda, who came to the surface, waved the Chilean flag in front of the cameras and tearfully kissed his daughter.

Now Chileans are wearing T-shirts with the inscription “We are fine, there are 33 of us” all over the country.

The rescue operation was broadcast online by both Chilean and leading world television channels. Even on Wednesday, when it became clear that the operation was successful, the city streets were filled with music and motorists began to honk their horns. People leaned out of car windows, waving flags. Many Chileans wore national costumes and wide-brimmed hats and sang and danced. In the town of Copiapo, where mostly families of miners lived, festivities are taking place. The city is decorated with flags and posters. Wednesday was declared a day off, classes in city schools were cancelled.

One of the most complex rescue operations in the world has caused excitement not only in Chile. The US President has already said that she “inspired the world.” The operation can be called international - Chilean, American and even European rescuers took part in it.

The rescued miners are still in the hospital. The miners look better than expected, writes, many of them rose to the surface combed and clean-shaven.

Some of the gold miners will be able to leave hospitals and return home as early as Thursday. But most of those rescued, doctors admit, still need health care: many miners are diagnosed with pneumonia and lung diseases, bad teeth, exhaustion, some are even diagnosed with diabetes. Doctors also note that some of the miners are deeply depressed and will need serious help psychologists.

It is still unknown whether all miners will return to work after rehabilitation.

Chilean media are already writing that rescued miners, who received about $700 a month before the mine accident, can now earn from $5 thousand to $50 thousand for one interview with leading media.

A few weeks ago, the miners, while still underground, signed an agreement in absentia to create an association with exclusive rights to disclose information about the mine collapse. But experts say that it will have legal force if all the miners personally express such a desire and once again certify the document.

Families of miners have already received checks from many individuals. Thus, the Chilean businessman Leonardo Farcas allocated $10 thousand to each family. From the state, the relatives of the walled-up miners are demanding through the court compensation of $1 million for each miner.