World's Top 5 Mine Rescues

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The technical difficulty of the on-going Chile mine rescue may put it in the history books for some time as the most impressive mining rescue. Many of the miners have now emerged from their enclave more than 2,000 feet underground, where they awaited rescue for 69 days. Below are some of most notable mine rescues in recent times.

5. Chile: Aug.- Oct. 2010
Many of the 33 miners who were trapped underground in a Chilean mine for more than two months have been brought to the surface and, barring any complications, the rest should be brought up by the end of the day Wednesday. The saga that has captivated the world began Aug. 5, when part of an underground copper mine in the Chilean desert collapsed, trapping the miners more than 2,000 feet below ground. A 622-meter shaft was drilled to reach the miners and a capsule designed by NASA and the Chilean government specifically for the rescue has been sent down the shaft used to bring the miners up one by one.

4. China: April 2010
One hundred and fifteen miners were pulled to the surface in Shanxi Province, China after eight days inside the Wangjialong mine, fighting rising flood waters. A hole was drilled to provide air for the men trapped below and the trapped workers had to pump the flood water out themselves in order for rescuers to reach them and pull them out of the mine. Some miners who tried to dig their way out actually complicated the rescue by filling the chamber where they were awaiting rescue with water. Only 115 of the 153 miners were saved.

3. Russia: Oct. 2003
Seventy-one men were in a mine in southern Russia when an underground lake flooded the mine shaft where they were working. Twenty-five escaped, but it took 36 hours to establish contact with the rest of the men, who few believed could remain alive that long. In the end, 44 were rescued. One remained missing and one man was found dead.

2. Pennsylvania: July 2002
When Pennsylvania's Quecreek Mine flooded with water, the nine miners trapped below and those charged with their rescue had to act fast to prevent the miners from drowning. A 240-foot shaft initially drilled to provide oxygen to the men was used to pump air into the shaft, creating an air pocket that was pressurized enough to prevent water from coming in until all the men could be brought out via the same shaft.

1. Pennsylvania: Aug. 1963
The shafts drilled in Chile to reach the trapped miners were an obvious answer to the puzzle of how to rescue the men, given that it's 2010. But boreholes have not been part of the equation in mine rescues for very long. The first rescue using boreholes was in 1963, when three men were trapped in a coal mine after a cave-in. An initial 6-inch hole was drilled to pinpoint the trapped miners. After that, workers drilled a hole large enough for the men to be brought out of the mine. Two men were pulled out alive, wearing harnesses and football helmets.

This article was first published at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/1013/Chile-mine-rescue-dwarfs-others-World-s-Top-5-mine-rescues/Pennsylvania-Aug.-1963