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Another Perspective
Trapped
The 33 trapped miners are ensconced in a room 20 by 30 feet.
Hard to believe as a relentless sun bakes the northern hemisphere, as America observes half a century of men landing on the moon, as the space shuttle prepares for retirement and science considers putting men on asteroids and then Mars, that 33 men remain trapped for a month in a collapsed Chilean mine, with prospects of freedom sometime around Christmas!
The 33 are ensconced in a room 20 by 30 feet. About half of their prison has been set aside as a lavatory area. They are in touch with scientists 2200 feet about them, communicating through a tube the diameter of a lemon. A second tube has been drilled to supply oxygen and a third for video conferences, meaning some of their grieving families will soon be able to chat with them.
Five of the captives are believed suffering from depression. And why not? They have been down there for one month already, and face yet another 90 days imprisonment!
The mine is a smaller one, not subject to the rules and regulations attendant larger excavations.
All of which fairly screams the question: how did this happen? Why can not a faster rescue be assured? (An Australian-built drilling rig is ripping away at an -escape tunnel, but still and all, it is expected to take 90 days). At least one of the miners is a seaman put out of work by the recent earthquake in his land who went to the mine as a last resort to keep his family alive. How many others got there through some similar contingency is not yet known.
What is known is this: the inability to reach 33 trapped men in the amount of time the experts guess is a story in itself, a tale of misplaced interest. Other nations capable of putting men on the moon and safely retrieving them should surely blanche at the thought of these 33, singing, as they do, their national anthem to maintain their spirits. One of their number has been designated the camp physician, to take blood and urine samples which will be shuttled up the tiny tubes to ground level for analysis.
As we in the United States gaze at the sun, and complain about the inordinate heat, we need to subconsciously exchange with these men. And wonder, “there but for the Grace of God…”
About the Author
Reid Collins is a former CBS and CNN news correspondent.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (23) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Reid Collins
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Bob K.| 8.30.10 @ 7:38AM
Mr. Collins,
My son is an exchange student at the Catholic University of Chile in Valparaiso. I have e-mailed him your article to share with his teachers and fellow students. They will be gratified to know that we join them in their concern.
Thank you.
Alan Brooks| 8.30.10 @ 5:42PM
Now watch, Pinochet will be blamed somehow.
Quartermaster| 8.30.10 @ 6:24PM
Nah. It's George Bush's fault.
wodiej| 8.30.10 @ 9:09AM
In this world of selfishness and spoiled behavior, there but for the grace of God go I indeed.
It would be wonderful if some citizens would gather at the mine area every single day until the men are rescued and pray for them, sing uplifting spiritual music, pipe down Joel Osteen's weekly 30 minute televised message. All of these things would go a long way to lifting up their spirits. Also sing patriotic music, read stories...
I will be praying for them. God Bless Them.
Beer for My Horses| 8.30.10 @ 9:18AM
Yes, let's quit the bellyaching, keep faith with these men, and pary for them every day until this is over.
Mike| 8.30.10 @ 10:01AM
Stories like these always strike a nerve with me. I come from a family with four generations of Kentucky coal miners. While the greenies and their ilk vilify such brave men, they keep the lights on across this country and do honest, hard labor to feed their families. I now live in central West Virginia, an hour away from both the Upper Big Branch and Sago disasters. God Bless Coal Miners where ever they are and may these men be brought home safe, sound and soon.
Dane| 8.30.10 @ 10:03AM
There is a camp outside the mine - populated mainly by families, friends and rescue workers. It is called "Esperanza", meaning "hope". The story occupies half of the news programs each morning and night. The miners are not forgotten. There is a national priority to get them out. There are expert teams from the U.S. and Australia that were called in to assist. The subject is on everybody´s mind.
There is also a small scandal brewing that an official of the Concertación (Leftist, socialist) government at the time that permitted this formerly closed mine to begin work again, by-passing the normal procedures. We´ll hear more of that once the miners are rescued.
Dane
Concón, Chile
Emma| 8.30.10 @ 11:31AM
We are so very sorry for what these men are having to endure. Not only must they endure the unthinkable for these many weeks; when they return to the surface, they will be changed.
DH and I pray daily for them, their families and those trying to help them.
B. Patton| 8.30.10 @ 11:34AM
To say they are "ensconced" in a 20 by 30 foot room, half of which is lavatory, is a willful misrepresentation to make your article more dramatic. You cannot be unaware that they have access to a half-mile of tunnels connecting them to other rooms that they also use.
Emma| 8.30.10 @ 11:41AM
Thank you for clarifying that. I was thrown by the narrow description in this article and wondered if "the facts had changed" because I had heard the other day about the extended tunnels they have access to. I am so thoroughly SICK of innaccurate news, whether it's incompetence or deliberate deception. Whatever happened to the high school journalism rule-of-thumb of "who, what, why, where, when...." Anyway, thanks, B. Patton.
Humphrey Dumfries| 8.30.10 @ 11:45AM
The miners are living in a dark, humid, 95-degree environment. The miners are barely using the 450-square-foot security chamber where they spent the first days after the Aug. 5 cave-in, Chilean health officials say.
There are at least 1.2 miles of chambers and tunnels, which contain three pickups and one large truck. The miners had been using the vehicles' batteries to power the bulbs in their helmets. Now they have received flashlights from above. The miners also have used the trucks to sleep or just rest.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/w.....6_ST_N.htm
Beer for My Horses| 8.30.10 @ 2:40PM
Perhaps you and Emma would like to trade places with them. Maybe they can arrange for you to have the Presidential Suite.
Ray| 8.30.10 @ 2:11PM
" Why can not a faster rescue be assured?"
Have you even considered the fact that the effects of that escape tunnel on the unstable area where the miners are trapped has to be extensively monitored and the pace of excavation carefully controlled in order to prevent the remaining mine, the part the men are trapped in, from collapsing completely? I mean, really, what good would it do to speed up the excavation if that very process caused the unstable rock strata to further collapse and kill the trapped miners?
Beer for My Horses| 8.30.10 @ 2:37PM
Exactly - and just like with the BP Gulf oil fiasco, we are again running up against the limits of our technology and know-how.
Emma| 9.1.10 @ 12:16AM
Apparently my noting the validity of something pointed out by B. Patton was offensive to you. I'm not sure why. Nothing about BP's comment or my response to it suggested that their situation was made easier. As I indicated in my first post, my husband and I are praying daily, literally, for these men, their families and those who are trying to help them. I do not care to change places with them. They have already endured far more than I would be able to tolerate for even 45 minutes. As I said, I am very, very sorry for what they are having to endure.
Obama| 8.30.10 @ 2:55PM
This is all Bush's fault. His willfull ignoring and lack of action of this crisis is appalling and a foretelling of what will happen after the Republicans steal back power.
Michele San Pietro| 8.30.10 @ 5:47PM
I agree with you. There's also no doubt that Bush was responsible for the Vesuvius eruption of 79 a.D. Please, give me a break!
Michele San Pietro| 8.30.10 @ 5:49PM
I am really sorry about those poor miners, I hope they can be pulled out as soon as possible, it's terrible to think they will probably spend another four months down there.
Adult toys | 7.4.11 @ 3:37AM
To me, it's the least important thing in the world to be "politically correct".l like the space.support.
thank you.