Trapped Chilean miners could be rescued by this weekend

October 7th, 2010 - 8:21 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt  

There seems to be hope in sight for the families of the Chilean trapped miners. Chilean officials say the first miners could be freed as early as 10th October. It was initially thought that the miners might not be out until December.

The company that is using the heavy drilling machines to get the miners out. Geotec Boyles Brothers, however say that the deeper the drilling gets, the complicated it becomes. However the Vice President of the company, Eugenio Eguiguren says the work is progressing very well and he expects the miners to be out this Sunday or Monday.

The Mining Minister of Chile, Laurence Golborne is set to visit the site as the operation nears its completion.

One of the shafts that is involved in the drilling operation is merely at 100 meters from one of the underground chambers that the miners can access. There are three rescue shafts involved in the rescue operation.

The miners have been trapped under the collapsed 700,000-ton rubble since the mine collapsed on August 5 this year. The miners survived alone under the rubble after taking refuge in an underground bunker. They were found 17 days later after the mines collapsed.

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