Chile miners squabble over who should be the last man to see daylight

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12 April 2012

The 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for more than two months have been squabbling about who will be the last to be rescued.

"They were fighting with us yesterday because everyone wanted to be at the end of the line, not the beginning," said health minister Jaime Manalich.

The men, who have been trapped twice as long as any previous survivors of a mining accident, will start to be hauled to safety late tomorrow night or on Wednesday.

Each will be strapped inside a 21-inch-wide steel capsule — known as the Phoenix — and winched 2,300 feet to the surface. They will wear oxygen masks and will be monitored by CCTV and linked by two-way radio during the 20-minute ascent. The steel cage has an escape hatch in the floor.

Mr Manalich said the greatest concern was that they would suffer panic attacks. "This is the first time in many weeks that the miners are going to be completely alone," he said. "They have to be psychologically mature and be able to handle a quick training on how to use the harness and oxygen mask in the Phoenix capsule."

The men have been given aspirin to reduce the risk of blood clots and high-calorie drinks from Nasa to reduce nausea; the capsule is expected to rotate 10 to 12 times as it is raised.

Drillers of the Plan B shaft, which was the first of three to reach the men, say its lower section is not at risk of collapse but the top part is being lined with steel tubes to prevent collapse.

One rescuer, Patricio Sepulveda, a corporal in Chile's special forces, has performed many mine rescues but never at such a depth. "We are prepared for this situation. No problem," he told The Times. "It will be like being in a five-star hotel.

"The first thing will be to give them some words of encouragement so that they have confidence that everything is going to be OK and they have faith that they are going to come out alive."
But relatives, who have waited at Camp Hope in the Atacama desert in northern Chile since a rockfall on August 5 left the copper miners trapped, remain concerned.

Rosa Gomez, 28, the second of four daughters of Mario Gomez, who at 63 is the oldest miner, said: "I'm afraid that at the moment the capsule comes up he'll panic." She said her nerves were shot and she was physically spent. "These two months have felt like two years," she said.

BACK TO A FREEZING WORLD... IN SOCKS AND SWEATERS

Why can't the miners be brought out today?
Preparations must be completed. The shaft's top section is being lined with pipes to reduce any risk of it collapsing. They will wear pressure socks and sweaters to combat a shift in temperature from about 32C underground to near freezing if they emerge at night. Those coming out in daylight will wear sunglasses.

What condition are they in?
The men — 32 Chileans and a Bolivian — have all exercised to keep their weight down. They are said to be in good health, although some have skin infections. The first rescuers will assess their mental states, with the strongest allowed to leave first. The concern is that they will suffer panic attacks on the trip out. Over the past week, all underwent tests. After a quick medical check at the surface, they will be flown by helicopter to hospital, where they will be put under observation in a dark ward.

Is there a risk of the rescue shaft collapsing?
Not according to geologists. It took 33 days to dig and was the first of three boreholes to reach the men. "I don't think there's any risk
of collapse," said Mario Medina Mejia, a geologist in Copiapo, the nearby town where some of the miners live. "It's a hole made
into virgin rock."

When will they tell the world their experiences first-hand?
The men have reportedly agreed not to speak to the media as they surface but have signed a deal to share the profits from their story. The hope is that each can make so much money from writing a book jointly that they will not need to work again.

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