First Chilean miner rescued

First member of rescue crew is up.

ETA: Or maybe just now...
 
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Still sounds like a horrible situation for everyone, but it'll probably work itself out ok, once international attention is off them.
I think just the opposite. There's going to be a lot of money flying around so conflicts over distribution between spouses and girlfriends (any boyfriends?) and relatives, etc, are bound to erupt. There will also, probably in pretty short order, be conflicts between the miners themselves. To say nothing of the drilling crews, etc., etc., etc. Shooting for the mil here, I predict a right awful mess within 3 months.
 
CHI-CHI-CHI, LE-LE-LE.
Los mineros de Chile! :D:CHILE:

CHI-CHI-CHI, LE-LE-LE.
Rescatistas de Chile!
 
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I managed to stay awake for the last miner to be rescued, what a great day for Chile. My Chilean boss (who I don't think has been to bed for about 48 hours now) has given us all an extra day of annual leave, to be taken before Christmas, to celebrate. :D
 
I managed to stay awake for the last miner to be rescued, what a great day for Chile. My Chilean boss (who I don't think has been to bed for about 48 hours now) has given us all an extra day of annual leave, to be taken before Christmas, to celebrate. :D


See?... that's the very nature of the vast majority of Chilean people. Friendly and hospitable with foreigners, and always commiserate with those in desperate need. Please say HI to my fellow Chilean citizen.

BTW, the first 17 days before the technology actually made contact with the miners, were a total agony for the whole country. We all knew that in all probability, in a mine with several kilometers of undeground galleries, all 33 guys were alive. But it was totally uncertain if we could establish contact before they'd starve to death.

Your boss was surely part of those who held their breath for 17 days, and now are celebrating a new triumph of reason and science.
 
See?... that's the very nature of the vast majority of Chilean people. Friendly and hospitable with foreigners, and always commiserate with those in desperate need. Please say HI to my fellow Chilean citizen.

BTW, the first 17 days before the technology actually made contact with the miners, were a total agony for the whole country. We all knew that in all probability, in a mine with several kilometers of undeground galleries, all 33 guys were alive. But it was totally uncertain if we could establish contact before they'd starve to death.

Your boss was surely part of those who held their breath for 17 days, and now are celebrating a new triumph of reason and science.

Congratulations to Patricio and all Chileans. As each miner left the rescue capsule, they were greeted by the cheer Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le! Is that a cheer particular to the miners or is it used by the entire country?
 
I will pass on your greetings to my boss, Patricio. I get the impression, from the television coverage of the trapped miners and from my boss, that Chileans are very patriotic; is that a fair assessment do you think? My boss has a great love of his homeland, despite being jailed and tortured under Pinochet.
 
As each miner left the rescue capsule, they were greeted by the cheer Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le! Is that a cheer particular to the miners or is it used by the entire country?

Something to do with their soccer team(s)...
 
CNN says five, unless I misheard.

2000 journalists on site and they couldn't keep track of how many rescuers there were.


I suppose "mission accomplished" is now somewhat rehabilitated.
 
Congratulations to Patricio and all Chileans. As each miner left the rescue capsule, they were greeted by the cheer Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le! Is that a cheer particular to the miners or is it used by the entire country?


Thank you!. The "Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le" cheer is not particular to the miners. The original is "Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le .... Viva Chile!". It's used in all patriotic situations, mainly in sports, like soccer.

BTW, "Viva Chile"= "Long live Chile!" or "Chile is Great!"


I will pass on your greetings to my boss, Patricio. I get the impression, from the television coverage of the trapped miners and from my boss, that Chileans are very patriotic; is that a fair assessment do you think? My boss has a great love of his homeland, despite being jailed and tortured under Pinochet.


Thank you, Agatha. Oh yeah, Chileans are very patriotic. In situations of disaster, like the Feb earthquake or the recent mining accident, that patriotism emerges very strongly. If you were here, you'd see Chilean flags everywhere (some added a "33" sticker on it). I just came back from the supermarket, and noticed a small sticker of the Chilean flag ... in a bunch of bannanas... LOL. Unusual.
 
Nice story on the rescue:

Straight-talking engineer was behind Chile rescue

SAN JOSE MINE, Chile – Three days after 33 men were sealed deep within a gold mine, Andre Sougarret was summoned by Chile's president.
The Chilean leader got right to the point: The square-jawed, straight-talking engineer would be in charge of digging them out.
At first Sougarret worried — no one knew if the miners were alive, and the pressure was on to reach them. And he knew he would be blamed if the men were found dead "because we didn't reach them or the work was too slow."

From the first confusing days to this week's glorious finale, the 46-year-old Sougarret was the man with the answers.

In choosing the young Chilean mining expert, President Sebastian Pinera had turned to the man who ran the world's most productive subterranean mine, El Teniente, for Chile's state-owned Codelco copper company.
A methodical engineer who stays cool-headed under pressure, Sougarret said he tried not to dwell too much on the men he was trying to save.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/lt_chile_mine_collapse
 


And he knew he would be blamed if the men were found dead "because we didn't reach them or the work was too slow.


I didn't know that Sougarret was selected by the President, and yes, I always thought that the burden on his shoulders was huge. During the first 17 days the man must have been very stressed, especially after the first drill missed the target (after several days of work and hope). In honesty I thought he would fail to locate the miners' shelter in time. After all, the task was to hit a 5mt x 5mt room, 700 mt underground, with the help of plans and maps which nobody knew exactly how accurate they were.

The moment the miners began to come out to the surface, he was extremely touched and couldn't fight the tears. Totally understandable from someone that was so involved and committed for 70 days.

I read in the news today that he is offering his help in the rescue of 2 miners who are currently trapped in a mine in Colombia.
 

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