"Chilean mining accident", began on Thursday, 5 August 2010 with a cave-in at the San Jos

coppergold mine, located in the Atacama Desert 45 kilometers (28 mi) north of the regional
capital of Copiap, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men, trapped 700 meters underground.

Rescue efforts began eight hours later led initially by mining engineer Miguel Fortt Zanoni.
At dawn Friday, rescuers groups began working to gain access through a ventilation chimney,
while trapped miners were climbing the emergency ladder, but the attempt failed because a
stretch of stairs had not been placed by the company. A second collapse happened in the
afternoon of Saturday August 7 nullifying the possibility of an outlet through the ventilation
tube. The Chilean government announced that the rescue had been canceled, but the
protest of the relatives led a new attempt under the direction of the engineer Andr
Sougarret and coordination of the mining minister Laurence Golborne, using heavy drilling
machinery.

17 days after the accident, miners were found with life, with considerable symptoms of
malnutrition. During that time they had to rationalize the few food that they found in the
shelter, to purify water and hold the spirit of solidarity that allowed to keep optimism and
coexistence.

Starting the tasks to open a wide well to be able to send a rescue capsule to the shelter,
rescuers had three alternative plans.

Three large well were drilled concurrently using several types of equipment provided by
multiple international corporations and based on three different access strategies. The three
plans in operation were: Plan A, B and C.

During this time, the survivors were fed and monitored through the initial drilling, while
communicating with relatives who were installed in a settlement known as Campamento
Esperanza. After 33 days one of the three plans, the B, got break to 623 meters of depth.
After partially covering the drilling began the extraction of the miners in an individual
capsule, on October 13 to A rhythm of about one per hour.

Each of the 33 men is a different story, but some who caught my attention were:

Carlos Mamani: He started working in the mine five days before the collapse, he is a Bolivian
and was the only non-Chilean miner.

Ariel Ticona: He saw the birth of his daughter by videoconference from the mine. Initially,
the girl would be called Carolina, but because of the collapse, her mother decided to call her
Esperanza.

Jose Ojeda: He wrote "We are well in the shelter the 33".
To date, it has been the largest and most successful rescue in the history of mining worldwide
and cost USD 29 million, of which two thirds was contributed by the State and the rest by
donation of private companies that control the 80% of the mining sector. The criminal
investigation was closed in August 2013 without charge against any person.

After seven years many of them are unemployment due to the fear of the employers to hire
them because at the moment of the tragedy they promised to denounce before the
authorities if the mine in which they will start working did not comply with the safety
regulations. Some perform temporary jobs such as drivers, mechanics or builders with low
incomes. And one of them, Mario Sepulveda dedicated to make motivational talks.

In 2015 released the 33 a movie that tells the whole tragedy.