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
Grupo México to the possibility of huge gas concentrations, there are certain theories that indicate the mine has an important lack of safety rules, very similar to the problem presented in the Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia with the accident that caused death of 12 miners on January 2, 2006. Union critics of the company openly refer to the incident as a "homicide." After the successful rescue of 33 trapped miners in October 2010 in Copiapó, Chile, the case gained popularity again, and many people including bishop Raúl Vera demanded that the case be reopened. Grupo México has not responded. According