Drill for Escape Route Reaches Chilean Trapped Miners

By: Kara Gilmour
10/09/2010 09:41 AM ET

Drill for escape route reaches Chilean trapped miners. A rescue drill has pierced the roof of an underground mine in Chile. Family members ran downhill, carrying Chilean flags.

Sirens blasted through the site of the mine early Saturday, signaling that the drill reached the miners and prompting family members and rescuers to rejoice 65 days after the mine’s collapse.

Officials have said the rescue process after the drill breakthrough could begin within three to four days. But mine engineers must decide first whether they need to encase the shaft with steel tubing to prevent rockfalls and further collapses during the extraction process.

“We have not yet rescued anyone and there is much ground to cover,” Mining Minister Laurence Golborne told reporters minutes after the breakthrough. “The families are aware of the process still expected.”

Golborne also said that, “If we do a full casing of the hole, those three to four days could go to eight to 10 days.”

(Patrick Oppmann and Karl Penhaul contributed to this Breaking News article)