Rescue of the Chilean Miners: Here's the story behind it 

Have you heard about the rescue of the Chilean miners in 2010?

People in many parts of the world were watching and praying as rescuers fought against the odds to contact them and bring all they could out of the mine alive. Here’s the story behind the rescue.

On August 5, 2010 a large mine in the northern desert of Chile collapsed, trapping 33 miners deep underground. Mining experts from Chile and soon from other nations worked tirelessly to try to reach them.

They were racing against time and against problems they didn’t know how to solve.

How could they locate the miners (without good maps of the mine)? Were any even still alive? If they found them, how could they penetrate the half mile of rock between them and open a passage to bring them out?

After 17 days of drilling, they managed to break into the section of tunnel the men were sheltering in, all still alive in spite of the heat and the tiny supply of food they had had.

Through a narrow tube the rescuers could send food, supplies, and messages from the miner’s families waiting on the surface above them. The miners could send back messages as well.

For another month and a half, the rescuers continued to drill. They faced and overcame one seemingly impossible problem after another.

Finally, in mid-October, they reached a tunnel very near the miner’s refuge with a passage just wide enough to bring one miner to the surface at a time.

As a large part of the world watched in relief (and amazement), all 33 miners were pulled up in a capsule and brought out of the mine. They, their families, and their rescuers, felt it was a miracle, made possible by the prayers—as well as the hard work and collaboration-- of so many.

More English Reading and Listening Practice about the Rescue

NPR has a short review (in writing or 8-minute audio form) of a book that gives the inside story of the miner’s incredible discipline and solidarity.

The author interviewed the miners about how they worked together to keep hope alive and survive more than two weeks on a food supply designed for far fewer men.

Once the rescuers made contact, the miners still had to endure the intense heat and darkness for the weeks it took for the rescuers to enlarge the passage so they could escape the mine. The original estimate was that they might be in the mine until Christmas.

Plan B gave them hope for an earlier exit, but it depended on a lot of unknowns going right. Its success was uncertain until just before their actual rescue, 69 days after the mine accident.

Check out the YouTube video above for an overview of the whole rescue, or this shorter (6 min.) video about keeping the miners alive until they could be rescued.

Then try this gap-fill exercise if you would like to practice some of the mining and rescue vocabulary you’ve been reading and listening to.

Gap-fill Exercise: Rescue of the Chilean Miners

Use the vocabulary below to fill in the blanks in the gap-fill sentences. You can do it in your head as a review if the words are familiar or download a PDF to fill in. The answers will be on the second page of the PDF, so you can check them even if you don’t choose to download it.

Words to use: capsule, drill, refuge, rescuers, surface, trapped

Gap-fill:

1. On August 5, 2010, the San Jose copper mine in Chile collapsed. It ______ 33 miners deep in the mine, with no way to escape.

2. On the surface, rescuers worked desperately to _______ narrow holes through the rock, hoping to find and make contact with the miners—if they were still alive.

3. Finally, on Day 17, they broke through to the place where the miners had found a ______.

4. The miners sent a note back up to the _______ so the rescuers would know they were alive.

5. The _______ used the drill hole to send food, medicine, and messages from their families to the miners.

6. In spite of all their difficulties, the rescuers kept drilling. Finally they had drilled a large enough hole that they could send down a _______ large enough to carry one miner at a time to the surface of the mine. They were able to bring all 33 miners to safety!

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