Heroism of the Chilean Miners!

[Natalie Severn]

Thanks Julie.Aberfan was in 1966 .116 children were killed when the coal tip slid down a mountain in Wales and onto their school,28 adults died too.The history of the mining industry is certainly laced with human cost and tragedy.Thats possibly why this whole event in Chile is so widely celebrated----they could all easily have perished!
Norma

[Suzi]

Hi Norma
My husband was there at Aberfan as a cub reporter for the South Wales Evening Post one of his first 'jobs'- He talks about it to this day...a seriously terrible event


Now we have something in China with 22 dead and 17 odd alive with another mining horror Oh Gawd what a nightmare!

Suz

Nothing about a Davis or Davies though! (Ooops sorry bad taste!)

[corey123]

Hello,

I have been watching this story for the past month or so. It is tremendous that humans can band together and survive undgerground for 68 days! I mean who could endure such a thing?

I was at work when the rescue opperation went on and we were very slow that night so my boss and I watched the whole thing practically(I worked overnight that night, oh boy! ) Anyhow, very intersting.

Also, they handled the psychological changes so far pretty well. As the experts who were called in to handle the miners said, their circadian rythem will be very out of balance, which is there natural time clock. This was mentioned when the rescue was under way and they sent the first capsle in with a rescue person.

In the end it is a very interesting a touching story.

Bravo mankind. Seems we really can pull together in hard times.

[Natalie Severn]

Well Suzi----that is interesting.I knew a couple of reporters who covered the Aberfan story when my ex was a "cub" reporter for Cudlip"s Sun newspaper in London-.Although the reporters descended there in packs they found it hard to interview the families.The whole village was in mourning and didnt welcome such intrusion.

Corey,
yes, we are always told about the spirit that held people together looking after each other during WW2 and I think we caught a glimpse of that as well as the resilience and fortitude you saw in the trapped men .

[Graham]

Bloody good job for the 33 miners that old Pinochet's not still in charge - he'd have just poured pre-mix concrete down the hole and had done with it.

G

[Bob Hinton]

Very interesting but,

I was in the States watching all this unfold. I kept telling my wife that the real problems will start once they get them out.

I fear the majority of them will be on the scrap heap within a year, with suicide and alcoholism being the two biggest evils.

[Natalie Severn]

Bloody good job for the 33 miners that old Pinochet's not still in charge - he'd have just poured pre-mix concrete down the hole and had done with it.

G

Quite right Graham.
Mind this president"s brother was in the Pinochet cabinet and he himself supported Pinochet at the time!
Oh Well!

[Robert]

If they ever visit this country I advise them to avoid the Northern Line.

[corey123]

Hello Bob,

This is what I was hinting to. The psychological ramifications are going to happen. And we just don't know what is going to happen, because this is the first time this has ever happened to this duration. Their circadian rythem will be the first target to the medics, getting them back on a normal sleep track, so they don't miss out on that all too important REM sleep.

Then like you said, suicide and drug abuse might be an issue. Also, the celebrity status they all now have might weigh in on whatever happens to them. I am supprised they aren't blind. I didn't watch closely enough to know if they had lights down there(In the videos it looked like the only source of light was the camera)and such a prolong inexposure to light, why aren't they blind?

Anyway, in the end just glad they got out alive and what not.

[Errata]

Hello Bob,

This is what I was hinting to. The psychological ramifications are going to happen. And we just don't know what is going to happen, because this is the first time this has ever happened to this duration. Their circadian rythem will be the first target to the medics, getting them back on a normal sleep track, so they don't miss out on that all too important REM sleep.

Then like you said, suicide and drug abuse might be an issue. Also, the celebrity status they all now have might weigh in on whatever happens to them. I am supprised they aren't blind. I didn't watch closely enough to know if they had lights down there(In the videos it looked like the only source of light was the camera)and such a prolong inexposure to light, why aren't they blind?

Anyway, in the end just glad they got out alive and what not.

I think this is why NASA was heavily involved with the care of the miners. They have the most experience with isolated groups of people in cramped quarters. Clearly the first 18 days, before they were found would have been the worst. However these guys were incredibly smart. During those 18 days they were organized and working on specific tasks to ensure their own survival. They did have fluorescent lights sent down that were on timers to simulate a day/night cycle. So they did have light, and they had some regulation of their circadian rhythms. I think these guys are in the end going to have fewer problems than the survivors of Flight 571 or similar disasters.

Prolonged lack of light only results in blindness on an evolutionary scale. Like those cave fish who lost their eyes. After prolonged darkness, sudden exposure to light can cause blindness, but they were very careful to give these guys sunglasses, and a regimen for protecting their eyes.