A year ago from Thursday, the final miner of 33 attained the surface, rescued after 70 days inside San José mine in Chile’s northern Copiapó region. Indeed, on August 5, 2010, 33 miners who would, from then on, be known as “Los 33” had been trapped 700 meters underground after a collapse in the mine where they were working. Contact was not made until 17 days after the accident but the 33 managed to survive.
The anniversary was commemorated on Thursday with the release of a documentary about the rescue, a mass and celebrations and exhibits around the country, those last ones lead by the First Lady and several ministers.
In order to remember the accident and the consequent rescue, a documentary called “Los 33” has been released; showing never-before-seen footage of the process and the producer of the movie “Back swan” has already bought the rights to the miners’ story, though the screenplay has not yet been written. Besides, three major exhibits on the rescue in Chile have been opened in different museums around the country. The Natural History Museum in Washington DC also opened the first official exhibit on the rescue “Against all odds: Rescue at the Chilean Mine” with some 20 original objects; a total of 300,000 visitors have already come to see it and it will remain open until 2012.
I think those are great ideas to commemorate the event and make people remember for a very long time. This should be a starting point to have better work conditions and try to avoid those situations. It was a very important issue for Chile and it must not be forgotten, so if you go to Washington DC some time before its closing, I encourage you all to visit the museum and the exhibit of the rescue, which seems to be very interesting!
Article by Anna Pope for The Santiago Times
The documentary is a great way to express the miners desperation during the 70 days, and the way that they lead the situation is truly admirable. I also believe that this is a great way to pressure the government into making working conditions in mines better and safer. It was shame that this ever happened in the first place, but fortunately no one came out physically harmed and all survived. Unfortunately this was not the same for the miners in New Zealand disaster who lost their lives on the 19th of November 2010. Hopefully this will shine more focus in improving working conditions for miners all around the world and trying to make a dangerous environment as controlled and safe as it possibly can be.
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