AFP, WASHINGTON
A captive global audience looked on as the first of 33 miners trapped for a record 68 days deep underground emerged yesterday into the cold night air of Chile’s Atacama desert.
People logged on and tuned in to read, watch and listen as Florencio Avalos was extracted safe and sound from 600m below ground at 3:11am GMT, followed exactly one hour later by co-worker Mario Sepulveda.
PHOTO: AFP
Families had all but given up hope of seeing their loved ones again when on Aug. 22 — 17 days after the collapse at the San Jose mine — a note tied to a drill probe announced their sensational survival to the world.
Millions, struggling to comprehend the nightmarish existence of the trapped men and the anguish of their families, have followed the painstaking rescue efforts as a shaft wide enough to extract the miners was drilled.
Wellwishers from around the globe, ranging from fellow miners to exalted heads of state, watched minute-by-minute overnight as a missile shaped capsule bearing Chile’s national colors was winched into the mine.
A measure of how the epic survival tale has ballooned into a global human interest story, live images from the site were broadcast to viewers in New York, Sydney, London and Tokyo.
The BBC streamed footage of the operation alongside a scrolling sidebar of mini-bites of information emerging from the crowd of relatives and Chilean politicians waiting to receive the miners-turned-national heroes.
Japan’s major television networks also offered live coverage, complete with profiles of the 32 Chileans and one Bolivian, who survived their first 17 days before making contact with rescuers by rationing emergency supplies.
NON-STOP COVERAGE
Japanese doctors discussed various medical complications the men could suffer, while Australian news stations, Web sites and radio bulletins devoted non-stop coverage to the dramatic operation.
“It was supposed to be a day off for me, and I was planning to catch up on my reading,” high school English teacher Tetsuro Umeji in Kudamatsu City, Japan, wrote on the BBC live feed. “But now my eyes are glued to the computer screen as the rescue is broadcast live. Absolutely amazing! Congratulations, Chile! I will keep my fingers crossed until the last of the 33 miners is brought to the surface!”
In Washington, US President Barack Obama issued a statement saying he too was following the fate of the 33 men, who have set a new record for surviving underground.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the brave miners, their families and the men and women who have been working so hard to rescue them,” a statement issued by the White House said in English and Spanish. “While that rescue is far from over and difficult work remains, we pray that by God’s grace, the miners will be able to emerge safely and return to their families soon.”
video feed
Chile’s embassy in Washington set up a public live video feed of the rescue operation, to see the men emerge one by one and reunite with relatives before being flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital.
In the Spanish-speaking world, the rescue bid dominated news stations and Web sites.
Spanish-language station Univision ran live video of the site, while Chile’s La Tercera newspaper Web site carried a graphic header with empty boxes to be filled in as each miner emerged safe, and two counters tallying “rescued miners” and “miners in hospital.”
The interest appeared to overwhelm authorities managing media at the mine site. They ran out of international media badges and began issuing hand-labeled IDs to reporters arriving from as far afield as China and Turkey.
China’s Xinhua news agency and state television were reporting from the ground, and popular news portals Sohu and Sina set up special sections on their front pages featuring details about the rescue effort.
EXCITING NEWS
Throughout Asia, whether in Singapore, South Korea, Thailand or Vietnam, citizens were greeted with the exciting news that the first miners were out.
Al-Jazeera’s English language station had a correspondent stationed at the site updating a Twitter feed with the latest information.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also took to the micro-blogging site to send his best wishes to the rescue crews and the miners.
“We are with Chile! God be with you,” he wrote.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel