A mining accident began on 5 August 2010 with a cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine in the Atacama Desert, 45 kilometers (28 mi) north of the regional capital of Copiapó, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men were trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) underground and 5 kilometers (3 mi) from the mine's entrance. They were all rescued 69 days later.
Although Chile is the world's top copper producer, its mines had a history of fatal accidents, with as many as 43 deaths in 2008. The San José mine was owned by the San Esteban Mining Company, which had ignored warnings from the Chilean Safety Administration. This negligence contributed to the collapse and the subsequent rescue operation.
The collapse occurred at 14:00 CLT on 5 August 2010 while 34 people were present. One miner escaped, but the remaining 33 were trapped. The group was forced to retreat to an emergency refuge after discovering a safety ladder, required by code, was missing. After the state-owned mining company Codelco took over the rescue efforts from the mine's owners, exploratory boreholes were drilled. Seventeen days after the accident, a note was found taped to a drill bit retrieved to the surface: "Estamos bien en el Refugio los 33" ("We are well in the Refuge – the 33").
The rescue was a multinational effort involving three separate drilling rig teams, nearly every Chilean government ministry, the United States space agency NASA, and numerous international corporations. On 13 October 2010, the men were winched to the surface one at a time in a specially built capsule, as an estimated 5.3 million people watched via live video stream. With few exceptions, the miners were in good medical condition, and no long-term physical effects were anticipated. Private donations covered one-third of the US$20 million rescue cost, with the remainder funded by the mine owners and the government.
The San José mine had a history of geological instability, and its owner, the San Esteban Mining Company, had a long record of safety violations. Over the previous dozen years, the company had been fined repeatedly and was responsible for accidents that killed eight people. Lawsuits and investigations into the collapse concluded in August 2013 after three years, with no charges filed.
Background
Chile's long tradition in mining has made the country the world's top producer of copper. In the 2000–2010 period an average of 34 people per year died in mining accidents in Chile, with a high of 43 in 2008, according to figures from the state regulatory agency "National Geology and Mining Service" (Spanish: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería de Chile abbreviated to SERNAGEOMIN).
The mine is owned by the San Esteban Mining Company, (Spanish: Compañía Minera San Esteban abbreviated to CMSE), a company notorious for operating unsafe mines. According to an official with the non-profit Chilean Safety Association, (Spanish: Asociación Chilena de Seguridad, also known as ACHS) eight workers died at the San José site between 1998 and 2010 while CMSE was fined 42 times between 2004 and 2010 for breaching safety regulations. The mine was shut down temporarily in 2007 when relatives of a miner killed in an accident sued the company; but the mine reopened in 2008 despite non-compliance with regulations. Due to budget constraints, there were only three inspectors for the Atacama Region's 884 mines during the period leading up to the most recent collapse.
Prior to the accident, CMSE had ignored warnings over unsafe working conditions in its mines. According to Javier Castillo, secretary of the trade union that represents San José's miners, the company's management operates "without listening to the voice of the workers when they say that there is danger or risk". "Nobody listens to us. Then they say we're right. If they had believed the workers, we would not be lamenting this now", said Gerardo Núñez, head of the union at a nearby Candelaria Norte mine.
Chilean copper mine workers are among the highest-paid miners in South America. Although the accident has called mine safety in Chile into question, serious incidents at large mines are rare, particularly those owned by the state copper mining company (Codelco) or by multinational companies. However, smaller mines such as the one at Copiapó have generally lower safety standards. Wages at the San Jose Mine were around 20% higher than at other Chilean mines due to its poor safety record.
A similar but smaller-scale accident occurred in 1964 in Andacollo, in which seven trapped miners were rescued by ENAMI.
Collapse
The collapse occurred at 14:00 CLT on 5 August 2010.
Access to the depths of the mine was by a long helical roadway.
One man, an ore-truck driver, was able to get out, but a group of 33 men were trapped deep inside. A thick dust cloud caused by the rock fall blinded the miners for as much as six hours.
Initially, the trapped miners tried to escape through ventilation shafts, but the ladders required by safety codes were missing. Luis Urzúa, the shift supervisor, gathered his men in a room called a "refuge" and organized them and their resources. Teams were sent out to assess the vicinity.
Initial search
Rescuers attempted to bypass the rockfall at the main entryway through alternative passages but found each route blocked by fallen rock or threatened by ongoing rock movement. After a second collapse on 7 August, rescuers were forced to use heavy machinery while trying to gain access via a ventilation shaft. Concerns that additional attempts to pursue this route would cause further geological movement halted attempts to reach the trapped miners through any of the existing shafts, and other means to find the men were sought.
The accident happened soon after sharp criticism of the government's handling of the Chilean earthquake and tsunami. Sebastián Piñera, the president of Chile, cut short an official trip to Colombia and returned to Chile in order to visit the mine.
Exploratory boreholes about 16 centimeters (6.3 in) in diameter were drilled in an attempt to find the miners. Out-of-date mine shaft maps complicated rescue efforts, and several boreholes drifted off-target due to drilling depth and hard rock. On 19 August, one of the probes reached a space where the miners were believed to be trapped, but found no signs of life.
On 22 August, the eighth borehole broke through at a depth of 688 meters (2,257 ft), at a ramp near the shelter where the miners had taken refuge. For days the miners had heard drills approaching and had prepared notes, which they attached to the tip of the drill with insulation tape when it poked into their space. They also tapped on the drill before it was withdrawn, and these taps could be heard on the surface. When the drill was withdrawn a note was attached to it: "Estamos bien en el Refugio los 33" (English: "We are well in the Refuge – the 33"). The words became the motto of the miners' survival and the rescue effort, and appeared on websites, banners and T-shirts.
Hours later, video cameras sent down the borehole captured the first grainy, black-and-white, silent images of the miners.
Survival
The trapped miners' emergency shelter had an area of 50 square meters (540 sq ft) with two long benches, but ventilation problems had led them to move out into a tunnel. In addition to the shelter, they had access to some 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) of open tunnels in which they could move around and get some exercise or privacy. Food supplies were severely limited, and each of the men had lost an average of 8 kilograms (18 lb) by the time they were discovered. Although the emergency supplies stocked in the shelter were intended to last only two or three days, through careful rationing, the men made their meager resources last for two weeks, only running out just before they were discovered.
After leaving the hospital, miner Mario Sepúlveda said, "All 33 trapped miners, practicing a one-man, one-vote democracy, worked together to maintain the mine, look for escape routes, and keep up morale. We knew that if society broke down, we would all be doomed. Each day a different person took a bad turn. Every time that happened, we worked as a team to try to keep the morale up." He also said that some of the older miners helped to support the younger men, but all have taken an oath of silence not to reveal certain details of what happened, particularly during the early weeks of desperation.
Videos sent to the surface
Shortly after their discovery, 28 of the 33 miners appeared in a 40-minute video recorded using a mini-camera delivered by the government via 1.5-metre-long (5 ft) blue plastic capsules called palomas ("doves", referring to their role as carrier pigeons). The footage showed most of the men in good spirits and reasonably healthy, though they had all lost weight.
The men appeared mainly bare-chested and bearded. They were all covered with a sheen of sweat due to the high heat and humidity of the mine at that depth. Several of the miners looked very thin, and some were camera-shy. The host, Sepúlveda, avoided specifics about the health of the men and used the vague term "complicated" to refer to their situation. He did, however, work to maintain an upbeat attitude, and insisted that things were looking brighter for the trapped men. The video generally portrays a positive, light atmosphere despite the grim circumstances.
Leadership
Foreman Luis Urzúa's level-headedness and gentle humor was credited with helping keep the miners under his charge focused on survival during their 70-day underground ordeal. Urzúa kept his cool in his first audio contact with officials on the surface, joking "it's been a bit of a long shift." He glossed over the hunger and despair he and his men felt, saying, "We're fine, waiting for you to rescue us."
Urzúa credited majority decision-making for the trapped men's good esprit de corps and dedication to their common goal. "You just have to speak the truth and believe in democracy", he said. "Everything was voted on; we were 33 men, so 16 plus one was a majority."
Following the collapse of the mine on 5 August, Urzúa had dispatched men to find out what had happened and see if escape was possible, but they could not find an exit route. "We were trying to find out what we could do and what we could not", said Urzúa. "Then we had to figure out the food." Urzúa tried to instill a philosophical acceptance of fate so they could accept their situation and move on to embrace the essential tasks of survival.
Key members of the trapped group
- Luis Urzúa (54), the shift foreman who immediately recognized the gravity of the situation and the difficulty of any rescue attempt. He gathered the men in a secure "refuge" then organized them and their meager resources to cope with a long-term survival situation. Just after the incident, he led three men to scout the tunnel. After confirming the situation, he made detailed maps of the area to aid the rescue effort. He directed the underground aspects of the rescue operation and coordinated closely with engineers on the surface over the teleconference links.
- Florencio Ávalos (31), second in command of the group, assisted Urzúa in organizing the men. Because of his experience, physical fitness and emotional stability, he was selected as the first miner to ride the rescue capsule to the surface in case of complications during the 15-minute ascent in the cramped shaft. Naturally shy, he served as the camera operator for videos sent up to the miners' families. He was trapped along with his younger brother Renan.
- Yonni Barrios (50), became the medic of the trapped miners due to his six months of training he took to care for his elderly mother. He served the group by monitoring their health and providing detailed medical reports to the team of doctors on the surface. His fellow miners jokingly referred to him as "Dr. House", an American TV medical drama character.
- Mario Gómez (63), the eldest miner, became the religious leader of the group, organizing a chapel with a shrine containing statues of saints as well as aiding counseling efforts by psychologists on the surface.
- José Henríquez (54), a preacher and a miner for 33 years, served as the miners' pastor and organized daily prayers.
- Mario Sepúlveda (40), served as the energetic host of the miners' video journals that were sent to the surface to reassure the world that they were doing well. The local media dubbed him "Super Mario" after the Super Mario Bros. video game for his energy, wit and humor.
- Ariel Ticona (29), served as the group's communications specialist, installing and maintaining the underground portion of the telephone and videoconferencing systems sent down by the surface team.
Health of the trapped miners
On 23 August, the first voice contact was made with the miners. Doctors reported that the miners had been provided with a 5% glucose solution and a drug to prevent stomach ulcers caused by food deprivation. Material was sent down the mine in palomas, which took an hour to reach the miners. Delivery of solid food began a few days later. Relatives were permitted to write letters, but were asked to keep them optimistic.
Out of concern for their morale, rescuers were initially reluctant to tell the miners that in the worst-case scenario, the rescue might take months, with an eventual extraction date close to Christmas. However, on 25 August, the trapped men were fully briefed on the projected timeline for their rescue and the complexity of the plans involved. The mining minister later reported that the men took the potentially negative news very well.
Rescue workers and consultants described the miners as a very disciplined group. Psychologists and doctors worked alongside the rescue teams to ensure the miners were kept busy and mentally focused. The men below ground confirmed their ability to contribute to the rescue operation, saying "There are a large number of professionals who are going to help in the rescue efforts from down here." Psychologists believed that the miners should have a role in their own destiny as it was important to maintain motivation and optimism.