Victory for Engineering and Technology

October 13, 2010 was just an ordinary day for most people, but for the 33 miners who were trapped inside the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile, it was the day of deliverance, when they awoke from a nightmare which lasted 68 days. On Aug 5, a mine shaft caved in 300 metres below, blocking the escape route of the people working down under. New cave-ins in the following days made the rescue effort difficult. 17 days later, a drill probe reached the emergency shelter area 624 metres below, to which the miners attached a hand-written note saying that "All 33 of us are well inside the shelter." Once contact was established, food and life support systems reached them and they were kept on tenterhooks as the rescue effort was first estimated to be a long drawn-out one which threatened to go until Christmas. Chile stood solid behind the rescue efforts and experts from about a dozen countries were called in to support the effort. NASA's help to keep up the morale of the people trapped in humid and lone conditions truly helped.

On Aug 29, the miners first talked to their relatives from a radio telephone which reached the shelter and several days later, could establish video conferencing and enjoy Chile's soccer match. A powerful drill started on Sep 19 and reached the miners on Oct 9, ending the stalemate. Four days later, all of them were rescued using a capsule named Phoenix. Luis Urzua, who was the shift boss emerged last on the line, creating a Guiness record for the longest underground stay.

This was a great feat for Chilean engineering and technology. They've brought out their best and pleasantly surprised the world by their steadfast determination to bring their colleagues back to life. I'm sure, if this incident had happened in China, they'd have been entombed alive in the deep mine. China is notorious for the languid safety in its mines and the scant regard it holds for the lives of its workers! As per mine safety reports, in 2004, there were 6,027 mining deaths in China whereas in the U.S, only 28 died. Even in India, only 99 workers perished in the same year. Every death is a permanent blotch on the image of the industry, and no effort should be spared to implement new technology and safe practises to bring the workers back to ground level safely.

The long night is past, for the Chilean miners and a new dawn awaits them. How many of them will be willing to go back to mines for a living? They had had the scare of a lifetime during these 68 days and the civil society should ensure that they be given alternate employment in which such a harrowing experience is not likely to recur.