14/10/2010 Chile and the miners

Subject	Chile and the miners
DateCreated	10/14/2010 12:22:00 PM
PostedDate	10/14/2010 11:51:00 AM
	I have been following with interest the wonderful news from Chile. The rescue of the 33 miners really is an incredible achievement and I take my hat off to all involved in this amazing feat. At first it looked like it would take nearly until Christmas to rescue them - now they are all free in mid-October. A few days ago they said it would take until Saturday night the get the last of the miners out - now they are all out on Wednesday. I was amazed that they even managed to locate those guys at all that far underground - never mind get every one of them out safely! If only the management of the mine itself beforehand had been as good and well handled as the rescue has been. I have much respect for the miners themselves and the way they have handled their long ordeal and come through it apparently in very good shape. Their lives will never be the same again - I hope they manage to deal with the next stage in their lives, which I'm sure will also be a struggle for many of them, although in a very different way. I'm sure they will never want to go down the mine again - and nor should they ever have to. I noticed that the president of Chile (who seems to be all over the miners as well as the TV) was there to greet the miners as they emerged from deep underground - but where was the president of the mining company who's shoddy attitude to safety had allowed this terrible thing to happen in the first place? I can only hope that the mining company will make sure that these men are well looked after for the rest of their lives and never have to even think about going down the mine to earn a living again. I hope they will retire them all on full pay for the rest of their lives - it's the least the company can do. And when the fuss has died down and the president of Chile has finished grandstanding, he too will make sure the miners are looked after...