Mine rescue operation underway

Engineers were in the early stages of drilling an escape route Tuesday for 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground, but officials warned that their ordeal may still last until Christmas.

The giant, Australian-made "Strata 950" excavator will first bore a 33-centimeter-wide pilot hole. This must then be doubled using a special drill bit to 66 centimeters - wide enough to lower a rescue capsule down to pull out the miners one by one.

The process, which began late Monday, will be painstaking and delicate, and Chilean officials have warned that rescue operations could last up to four months.

The miners' plight came to light when a note scribbled in bold red letters was found tied to a drill probe August 22, by which time there was believed no hope for their survival.

Conditions for the trapped miners improved over the weekend as they were sent dry clothes, food supplies and games to occupy their time. Some received mats to sleep on to protect them from the damp ground.

However, questions are emerging about whether the men will be paid during their ordeal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The firm that ran the mine, Cia. Minera San Esteban Primera, has said it may have to declare bankruptcy, because of the shutdown of the mine and the flurry of government investigations and civil actions it is facing, the paper said.

The chief of the local mining union, Evelyn Olmos, asked the government to assume San Esteban Primera's payroll responsibilities, but a labor ministry subsecretary, Bruno Baranda, replied that the government "cannot legally, within the regulations, take over labor responsibilities such as paying salary or pension benefits."

Some family members were clearly impatient that nothing could be done more quickly, after officials denied that they had alternatives to get the workers out in as little as a month.

"It's a big shame that there is no other quicker plan because four months is a long time," said Alfonso Avalos, father of stricken miners named Florencio and Renan.

Agencies