Rescue plans for 2010 Copiapó mining accident An Austrian system of cranes and pulleys designed for the rescue capsule eventually pulled the miners to the surface. But overall, it was widely a Chilean-led team and effort. As one NASA specialist said while visiting early on in the rescue: “The Chileans are basically writing the book.” Rescue plans for 2010 Copiapó mining accident The 2010 Copiapó mining accident began as a cave-in on 5 August 2010 at the San José copper-gold mine in the Atacama Desert near Copiapó, Chile. The accident left 33 men trapped below ground who survived underground for a record 69 days. All 33 men
Pabst Mine disaster from the wooden planks lining the mine walls and heated with the miners' carbide lamps. Soon after the collapse, a miner named Alfred Maki descended the shaft and heard signals from the men trapped inside. Over the next five days, rescuers began digging from the neighboring "H" shaft to try to reach the trapped miners. They descended first to nearly the bottom of "H" shaft, where a tunnel connected the two shafts, and then began working their way up the ladderway of "G" shaft. On the fifth day, they were able to reach the trapped miners. According to news reports,