Last Saturday, 18 September, the whole of Chile--including the 33 miners trapped 750 meters under the earth--celebrated the 200th anniversary of their independence. "Con gestos y espiritu de unidad," bannered the El Mercurio, "Chile mira al futuro y celebra sus 200 anos (With action and spirit of unity, Chile looks at the future and celebrates its 200 years)."The next day, the bottom picture, front page of Ultimas Noticias showed one miner dancing to the beat of "La Consentida," probably a popular song in Chile. The inside feature said the 33 miners celebrated their bicentennial "pura alegria" (pure joy) as they sang loudly and danced ("cantaron a todo pulmon y hasta bailaron cueca"); they also hoisted their flag simultaneously with the ceremonies up on the earth above them.
El Mercurio said at the bottom of the page that the drilling machine has 624 meters below the earth, and is now in the final phase of the rescue operations.
The Hoy of Ecuador on the same day said the driller--commissioned by the Chilean military--has gone 630 meters down, and the front page had an illustration of the equipment with a description of its features: it's a steel plated and cylindrical; 2.5 meters tall - enough to accommodate one man; has an oxygen line, wheels for damping, an intercommunicator, bandages to prevent damage to the eyes, and a door coated with 3mm of transparent polycarbonate; and it's provided with a escape system in case the equipment gets stuck on the way - the person can open the bottom door and descends with a rope.
The miners shaved and wore red shirts during their celebration down under. They may be home for Christmas!
No comments:
Post a Comment