Five years ago the world anxiously awaited 33 Chilean miners to rise from the rubble after a long 69 days of entrapment.
One by one, the workers, who ranged in age from 19 to 63, all made their way out of a 26-inch hole in the ground, greeted by a cheering crown that included Chile’s president Sebastian Piñera.
The harrowing ordeal began on August 5th, 2010 when the San Jose gold and copper mine in the Atacama region of Northern Chile they were working on collapsed; 17 days later, a drill was sent 2,000 feet underground via a 5 1/2-inch hole to the emergency shelter area where the workers were located.
The miners were able to send back a note to the rescuers saying “We are fine in the refuge, the 33.”
Before the initial contact, however, desperation drove them to consider suicide and cannibalism.
Here are some facts to relive the moments in anticipation of “The 33,” a new film starring Antonio Banderas about the event.
1. Food, water, medication, bibles, cigarettes, letters from their loved ones and even video cameras were sent to the trapped miners.
2. They miners worked eight-hour shifts clearing debris that fell through the hole, all while maintaining routines and monitoring each other under the emotionally charged circircumstances.
3. The miners provided urine samples on a regular basis to test for health problems.
4. Chilean TV aired footage of the trapped miners, showing them in good spirits.
5. Ariel Ticona, became a father while he was trapped. Ticona passed a message to his wife, Elizabeth Segovia — who gave birth to a baby girl —using a fibre optic video link set up between ground level and the refuge: “Tell her to change the name of our daughter … and give her a long-distance kiss,” he said in an article in the Guardian. “We’re going to name her Esperanza” (the word for hope in Spanish).
6. Yonni Barrios had both his wife and his lover waiting for him to be rescued. He ultimately picked his girlfriend and are now happily living together.
7. A worldwide audience tuned in to the rescue operation that lasted 22 hours before the workers were each extracted through a capsule.
8. The miners were honored with trips to destinations that included England, Israel and Disney World.
9. Their story of survival comes out in theaters on Nov.13. The film, directed by Patricia Riggen, tells the story of the resilient men’s epic will to hold on in the face of dire circumstance.
10. Chilean Consulates across the U.S. and Canada will celebrate the anniversary with special VIP screenings of the film. The Chilean Consul General will serve as host of the event in NY, San Francisco, Houston, Toronto and Chicago.
