Chile: Miners’ New Rescue Plan In Place

Santiago de Chile, Sept 9. -An oil drilling machine will be installed on Thursday for the third rescue option, or "Plan C," of the complex operation to rescue the miners trapped underground for more than a month in a collapsed mine in Chile.

According to Andres Sougarret, the chief engineer leading the rescue work, the platform for the drill is 95 percent finished and should be done by Thursday to begin setting up the equipment.

The machine, which can dig up to 2,000 meters down, is expected to begin operating on September 18, Chilean technicians said.

One of the huge machines used in the rescue efforts, the T-130 (Plan B) had dug 268 meters down by Wednesday, but had to stop for regular maintenance work on its bars and hammer.

Since August 5, the miners — 32 Chileans and a Bolivian — have been surviving in a humid shelter at the bottom of the San Jose mine in the Atacama desert, 800 km (497 miles) north of the capital. (Prensa Latina)