After being trapped for 17 days by a collapsed mineshaft, 33 Chilean miners report being alive and well in a note written to rescuers Sunday.
“We are fine in the Refuge. All 33,” the note read according to Chilean newspaper the Santiago Times.
The miners’ families and rescuers had nearly given up hope for the miners’ survival after having had no contact with them since Aug. 5 when the mine collapsed.
The note shows that the miners successfully reached an underground shelter with stockpiles of water, food, and oxygen. However it is unclear how they have managed to survive on the supplies in the shelter, which were estimated to last only two or three days with that number of people.
Chilean authorities say it could still take months to free the miners.
The miners will be provided with more supplies through narrow plastic tubes inserted down the borehole.
“We are fine in the Refuge. All 33,” the note read according to Chilean newspaper the Santiago Times.
The miners’ families and rescuers had nearly given up hope for the miners’ survival after having had no contact with them since Aug. 5 when the mine collapsed.
The note shows that the miners successfully reached an underground shelter with stockpiles of water, food, and oxygen. However it is unclear how they have managed to survive on the supplies in the shelter, which were estimated to last only two or three days with that number of people.
Chilean authorities say it could still take months to free the miners.
The miners will be provided with more supplies through narrow plastic tubes inserted down the borehole.
