Chilean Miners

[karter]

They have broken through and reached them. :)

[waynetta]

Hallelulah ! Rejoice ! :)-D

[daizie]

CONVINCE people you're trapped down a Chilean mine by growing a beard and filming yourself topless and in 'high spirits'.

[waynetta]

Apparently they are squabbling over which one of them will be rescued last.I suppose this is because the last man is the one who will get the most attention.I wouldn't like to be last though.Can you imagine if all the others got rescued and then there was another collapse and you were left down there all alone.

[waynetta]

The ascent could take up to an hour. The tunnel that has been bored is at an incline and the pod will be twisting and turning all the way up. A rescue crew will be going down one man at a time after each trapped miner comes up.

There are fears that some of the miners may suffer panic attacks when in the pod because it is so small and they may get claustrophobic.

[Emerson Crane]

waynetta Wrote:

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> Hallelulah ! Rejoice ! :)-D

But the downside is they've been offered the "gift" of watching Man U by Bob Charlton, what have they done to deserve that? Could be worse could've been Spurs, only kidding, great news, I hope they all come out safely.

[Senor Chevalier]

waynetta wrote:

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"A rescue crew will be going down one man at a time after each trapped miner comes up. "

Er, am I being dim, but if at the end of all this we have 33 rescue workers at the bottom of a mine...

[karter]

I just hope they don't forget to plug the hole after getting everybody out.

[waynetta]

I'm not sure if 33 rescue workers are going down. The ones going down will be trying to keep the trapped miners calm. Despite being rescued this is probably the most stressful part of their whole experience. The end game

[Jeremy]

I can't help feeling they're making a mistake by not lining the entire length of the hole with metal first. What happens if the capsule gets stuck in the rock? They would never be able to reach it.

[KidKruger]

I think the shaft is going to be lined but what I fear is that the lining will catch against the capsule on the way up / down and that it will cause some blockage or a need to repair the damaged sleeve.

[waynetta]

There is an escape hatch at the bottom of the pod should it get stuck.

[Jeremy]

I thought they were only lining the top part - where the rock is more soft.

An escape hatch doesn't seem like a lot of good if there's a near vertical drop beneath you... and a space so tight that you wouldn't have a hope of climbing or even moving.

Anyway, enough of the negative talk... let's hope everything goes OK!

[waynetta]

They will have a harness strapped to them should they have to be released through the trap door.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

ooh - that was a bit emotional. Hope it goes well for the rest of them.

[DJKillaQueen]

Yeah I saw it too. It's an amazing rescue and likewise I hope the capsule works without a hitch for the rest of them.

[oilworker]

In all honesty watching that rescue operation was as interesting as watching paint dry. I was hoping that the Chilean TV director would pan to pretty girls in the crowd like they do in the World Cup but no such luck.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Yeah, to capture a global audience they need to hold the next one in a better time zone

i like the little counter at the top of the news feeds - when it gets to 33/33 do we get a little

http://www.ripten.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/achievement_unlocked1.jpg

[waynetta]

I found it very emotional and life affirming.

[ratty]

I think it is pretty amazing! Good luck to them all!

[SeanMacGabhann]

Obviously the plight and subsequent rescue is incredibly moving

But for the rolling news networks to be going so big on it seems overkill - all that talking. very. slowly. for. hours

[waynetta]

I tend to overlook that and just think of what those men have been through. The first 17 days they were alone in the darkness not even knowing if they would be found. My god what must that have been like?

[HAL9000]

Historic news coverage - great to see those brave guys being rescued.

I note that NASA has made good use of the opportunity to study them while trapped in confined isolation - no experiment with paid volunteers can produce such realistic results: if it's any consolation to the miners, their experiences may help astronauts travel to Mars and beyond in the near future.

[karter]

Sean is right. They do have many more guys to pull out though that will go through peak time news. It's a great mission.

[DJKillaQueen]

Eight out so far.