2010 Copiapó mining accident 2010 Copiapó mining accident The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the "Chilean mining accident", began on Thursday, 5 August 2010 with a cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine, located in the Atacama Desert north of the regional capital of Copiapó, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men, trapped underground and from the mine's entrance via spiraling underground ramps, were rescued after 69 days. After the state-owned mining company, Codelco, took over rescue efforts from the mine's owners, exploratory boreholes were drilled, and seventeen days after the accident a note was found taped to a drill bit pulled back
Vorkuta mine disaster the presence of methane gas within the mine, which workers feared would spark another explosion, and lack of communication with the trapped miners. In the morning of 28 February, a third explosion, also believed to be caused by methane gas, shook the mine, causing further collapses. Five rescue workers and another miner, attempting to reach the trapped miners, were killed. Based on the proximity of the explosion to where the trapped miners were located, the trajectory of the flames, and the high concentration of carbon monoxide in the mine's air, Russia's Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov believed the trapped miners