Drilling um eingeschlossenen Bergleute chilenischen erreichen beginnt
Crews have begun boring a rescue shaft to reach the 33 miners who have been trapped underground in Chile for more than three weeks, according to CNN Chile.
The effort to drill through more than 2,300 feet (700 meters) of rock and safely extract the workers could take three to four months, officials said.
The miners have been stuck in the desert copper-and-gold mine since an August 5 cave-in and are surviving on supplies funneled to them from above ground through three bore holes, each about four inches in diameter.
Rescue officials have said they plan to send down food over the next few days. There are also plans to send down more beds, which is a slow process, said Ximena Mata, the Chilean government’s point person.
Until now, the men living in what they have dubbed “Refuge 33″ have been surviving on liquids.
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All the miners were in good spirits and were looking forward to the promised solid food, the mining company said Monday.
Meanwhile, a four-person team from NASA is set to arrive in Chile this week to help provide physical and behavioral health support to the miners.
A medical official, a nutritional medic, a psychologist and an engineering expert in logistics from NASA will stay at the mine from Wednesday through Friday to help, Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich said.
And a group of engineers have said they have a “Plan B” that could halve the time it would take to reach the miners.
Walter Herrera, quality control and risk manager for the Chilean mining company GeoTech, has said his company was bringing a specialized device typically used for boring water holes to the mine. The drill would use one of the three bore holes already made as a pilot and widen the diameter to about 28 inches, which officials have said is wide enough for the miners to be hoisted through.
Chile’s mining minister has not ruled out the alternative plan, but has cautioned it might not work. He has also said it might not be put into operation.