Trapped Chilean miners work out

Humberto Molina, chargé d'affaires at the Chilean embassy in Beijing. Photo: Humberto Molina

By Yu Miao

Chile's 33 trapped miners have persuaded authorities to send them cigarettes, and they will also start an exercise program, officials said Sunday.

The daily, hour-long exercise program will allow the men to stay in "good physical condition" and will also "prepare them for their rescue," Health Minister Jaime Manalich said.

According to Manalich, the miners, who have been mostly sedentary since they first became trapped 700 meters underground during an August 5 shaft cave-in of the San Jose copper and gold mine located about 800 kilometers north of Santiago, are at the point in their confinement when adverse emotional and mental conditions can begin to surface.

The announcement came one day after Chilean officials said they would supply the miners with daily cigarettes in another attempt to improve their emotional well-being.

Humberto Molina, chargé d'affaires at the Chilean embassy in Beijing, told the Global Times that the Chilean government has set up a special commission to study the working conditions of miners in the country, in a bid to prevent future mining mishaps.

"The commission will create a report outlining proposals for improving the standards of miners' working conditions, especially for those working in small mines," Molina said. "And a team of investigators has started its probe into the accident."

He thanked the Chinese embassy in Santiago for showing support and solidarity to the miners and their relatives.

"It is also wonderful to see, beyond the physical distance between the two countries, the support that Chinese citizens have sent to us," Molina said. "On September 1, a Chinese engineer called us to offer his help, saying he is preparing to go to the site and to work with the rescue team."

"We are very grateful for the Chinese government and its people, especially this year, when we are celebrating our bicentennial independence anniversary and our 40 years of diplomatic relations with Beijing," he added.

According to Molina, the most difficult challenge for now is to build a narrow tunnel that will serve as the exit for the miners, without causing new collapses.

On Saturday, rescuers suffered a major setback as they failed to pull out a broken drill bit stuck deep inside a shaft being drilled as the rescue tunnel.

"Plan B remains stopped at 268 meters," Rene Aguilar, an engineer at the mine coordinating rescue work, told AFP, referring to the plan of drilling a shaft 30 centimeters in diameter, then repeating the operation to increase the diameter size to 66 centimeters to pull up the miners.