The Chilean Miners Experience
Heroic Survivors of the San Jose Mine Collapse
The Chilean Miners Experience brings together heroic miners Omar Reygadas and Mario Sepulveda along with medical doctor Jean Romagnoli and journalist Nelson Flores to deliver a powerful message of hope, inspiration and perseverance.
The world was on edge as 33 miners were lifted over 2,000 feet to the surface of the earth following the collapse of the San Jose mine in Chile on August 5th, 2010. A second collapse on August 7th hampered rescue efforts, blocking access to the lower parts of the mine, and the world was expecting the worst.
Seventeen days after the accident, rescuers found a note from the miners attached to one of their listening probes saying "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33" - "All 33 of us are well inside the shelter." Emergency supplies and fresh water were then sent down a borehole to the miners after they had survived on rations for 17 days in 90 degree heat and humidity.
During their time underground, the miners split into three groups - Refuge Group, Ramp Group and Group 105 - named after the shelter, the ramp and Level 105 sections of the 1km tunnel where they were trapped.
Key miner Mario Sepulveda ("Super Mario") filmed a 40-minute video in late August where he led viewers on a tour of their sleeping quarters, their dining area and displayed where they kept their rations. Throughout the video, Sepulveda worked to maintain a positive and upbeat attitude, even leading a rendition of the Chilean national anthem towards the end.
Upon his release from the hospital, Sepulveda, who was second to be rescued, said, "All 33 trapped miners, practicing a one-man, one-vote democracy, worked together to maintain the mine, look for escape routes and keep up morale. We knew that if society broke down we would all be doomed. Each day a different person took a bad turn. Every time that happened, we worked as a team to try to keep the morale up."
Omar Reygadas, the 17th miner to climb out of the Phoenix escape rescue capsule, was the leader of Grupo Refugio. He says the experience has made him a new man and has given him a second chance at life. Reygadas helped organize life below the surface, calming others when they got nervous and helping them get what they needed from authorities outside. The 56-year-old electrician became a great-grandfather for the fourth time while trapped underground.
The Chilean Miners Experience is a 90-minute program featuring a Q&A session with miners Sepulveda and Reygadas followed by a discussion with Dr. Romagnoli, chief medical officer of the team that led the rescue and journalist Flores, who comments on the riveting rescue that captured the world.
