Rescue cage arrives at Chile mine
By AFPPublished Sunday, September 26, 2010
A special steel cage designed and made by the Chilean Navy to help rescue 33 men trapped for a record seven weeks underground arrived Saturday at the San Jose mine to applause and cheers from miners' loved ones.
"I'm happy because we've been waiting for this for 50 days," the wife of one of the trapped miners, Elizabeth Segovia, told AFP as the truck bearing the cage rolled into the compound under police escort.
Despite the long wait until rescuers can begin pulling the men, one by one, from their shelter 700 meter (2,300 foot) below, by early November at the soonest, the cage buoyed hopes in the makeshift campsite that sprung up after the August 5 cave-in.
"Chi, Chi, Chi, le, le, le. Viva Chile!" shouted everybody as the truck came to a halt.
Measuring 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) and weighing 250 kilograms (550 pounds), the cage is the first of three that will be used to hoist the men up through a 60-70 centimeter (24-28 inch) -wide shaft.
An Austrian-made hoisting system of pulleys and cranes will bring the cage slowly up the rescue shaft.
Engineers said each trip will take from one to one-and-a-half hours, with the entire rescue lasting more than 24 hours.
More:
http://www.emirates247.com/news/world/rescue-cage-arrives-at-chile-mine-2010-09-26-1.295223~~~~~25 September 2010 Last updated at 22:03 ET
Chile miners: Family joy as rescue capsule arrives
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/media/images/49248000/jpg/_49248921_carolinalobosafp.jpgCarolina Lobos' heart was racing when she stepped
into the cage she hopes will pull her father to safety
A cage specially built to help rescue 33 men trapped underground in a mine in Chile has arrived at the mine head.
The steel capsule will be used to pull the men to safety one by one, once a rescue shaft wide enough to haul them up has been drilled.
Relatives of the miners were allowed to get into the narrow cage, which is little more than 50cm (20in) wide.
It is expected to take between 20-30 minutes to pull each miner up from their shelter at a depth of 700m.
More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11412845