Posted on 09/18/2010 8:33:46 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Miners celebrate independence while trapped underground
By Karl Penhaul, CNN
September 19, 2010 -- Updated 0204 GMT (1004 HKT)
Copiapo, Chile (CNN) -- Half a mile underground, the hollow echo of the Chilean national anthem rings out. And slowly, the red, white and blue Chilean flag is hoisted up a makeshift metal flagpole.
These are the opening images of a new, nine-minute video the 33 miners sent Saturday from the cavern where they're trapped 700 meters (2,300 feet) down. They were putting a brave face on disaster to celebrate Chile's Independence Day in their own way.
It was left to Bolivian Carlos Mamani, the only one of the men who is not Chilean, to record an Independence Day message.
"I would like to send a special message to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera for helping us all in this difficult time. I would also like to send a message of thanks to Bolivian President Evo Morales who has been supporting my family," said Mamani, originally from the Bolivian mining town of Oruro.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Godspeed.
Praying they are soon freed.
God love them, that’s a rough situation to be in!
Those guys are real troopers. Hope they are soon back with their families!
God bless these poor men, I hope they will be above ground soonest!
Has there been an offer from our country to assist these brave folks?
Thank you for your reply.
I didn’t mean to diminish the Chileans in anyway. They are fine folks and have a great country.
I thought maybe we had something unusual and rare in our equipment arsenal they could use. (To get corny, if we can send folks to the Moon, we certainly can help get some folks out of a hole in the ground with some unusual equipment.)
(I have to keep myself from getting sarcastic by saying we are too busy trying to save that backward country, which can never be saved...Haiti.)
Thank you again. I have great faith in the Chileans.
I am in the mining biddness and lived in Chile for 5-years, just south of Copiapo. Their technology as far as equipment goes is the same as ours...most of the big mining equipment manufacturers are well-represented in Chile and they have all the stuff we do.
Great country with a bright future if they can just resist the turn back to socialism.
“Their technology as far as equipment goes is the same as ours...most of the big mining equipment manufacturers are well-represented in Chile and they have all the stuff we do.”
Thank you for that information. I can relax a little now but not much. I have been so worried for them and still am.
The Chilean navy stops by a lot here in Panama. I always have to take a second look because they look like our U.S. sailors.
There are never any scandals about Chileans here in Panama...about other Latin country nationals?...yes.
Gatun...(lightbulb goes off!!!) geez, I missed that. I used to have the live video feed from the canal web site...was cool watching the ships go through the locks.
Makes me wonder what 33 American lefty liberals would do on the Fourth of July if they were similarily trapped in a cave for months.
Leni
You might try this:
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=MirafloresHi
One can never tire of watching ships go through.
When my sister and my wonderful brother-in-law come to Panama, my BIL goes to Miraflores Locks to watch the ships go through. He could spend the entire day there. It is absoluty fascinating. It never gets old…and I was born here.
Two things to notice about the water and clouds at Miraflores at this moment: We have 9 months of rainy season here…hence the dark rain clouds in the background. Because of the season, the water has a brown shade. It is not filth. It is dirt (clean) washing down into Gatun Lake from the rivers draining from the mountains.
P.S.
I see right now it is raining like crazy over at Gatun Locks.
It looks like the rainstorm is clearing up at Gatun Locks and is coming this way.
I LOVE rain.
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