Because of the many people involved in the entirety of the Chilean Mine Disaster, I wanted to provide some background information on some of the key players to get viewers oriented.
First is Laurence Golborne, the man in charge of the disaster management of the Chilean Mine Disaster.
Laurence Golborne:
Golborne was Chile’s mining minister during the Chilean Mine Disaster and also oversaw the rescue operation. Golborne was on site throughout the mine rescue and was seen as a hero for helping save the miners and mobilize the rescue effort so effectively. The Guardian reported that after the disaster Golborne had an approval rating of 87% (higher than that of the Chilean president!), and was praised for “his tireless efforts on behalf of the miners and their families” (The Guardian, 2010). His popularity for his handling of the disaster led him to run an unsuccessful presidential bid when he had to stop his campaign due to scandal. He is currently the Chilean Energy Minister.
Golborne responding to media questions on the miners’ status:
Here is an interview with Golborne on his leadership during the disaster:
Media Stations
Fascinatingly there were over 2,000 reporters at Camp Hope (the makeshift mini city that sprouted up around the site of the mine) at the start of the time that the miners began being pulled up. An estimated 1 billion people saw the footage of the rescue. Every major news station imaginable was there; BBC sent 26 reporters just to cover the event! They spent $160,000 but definitely thought it was money well spent. The reporters had to camp out but were given myriad opportunities for fantastic footage as there were constantly rescue effort updates by Laurence Golborne as well as continuous live streaming video coming from beneath the mine.
One of the reporters for the Associated Press won its top prize for journalism. Her name is Vivian Sequera and she spent over a month living in a tent alongside the miners’ relatives. Sequera became trusted by the relatives because she would spend her nights shivering next to miners’ wives on milk crates at Camp Hope and talking to them about how they were dealing with the ordeal. Her investigative work got her exclusives with leading engineers and miners’ relatives who would speak to no one but her. She was also the first reporter to break the news of the order that the miners were going to be evacuated because it was accidentally briefly posted in the “relatives only” section of the camp and her miner’s wives friends took a snapshot and gave it to her. Read more about her accomplishments during the disaster here.
Mining company
The San Esteban Mining Company was the company that owned the mine in Copiapó that collapsed, trapping the 33 miners. The company was founded in 1957 by Jorge Kemeny Letay and specialized in gold and copper. In the 6 years leading up the disaster, they received 42 fines for breaching safety regulations as well as 8 employee deaths in that timeframe. The company was found clearly at fault for the perpetration of the disaster. The mine had previously closed in 2007 due to a miners death and was only allowed to open under the condition that they construct a ladder from the bottom of the mine to the top of the ventilation shaft in case of a cave in. The 33 miners a few years later tried to exit this ladder during the cave in only to find that the company had only paid for the ladder to be built 1/3 of the way up!
President Piñera
Chilean President Piñera was a key player in the disaster and was present for most of the press conferences and actually gained popularity in the polls because of his work in securing the safe exit of the miners. As Chile’s face of the disaster it was Piñera who first broadcast to the world that the miners had been found.
Piñera was optimistic throughout that the miners would be safely returned to the surface and also kept the media constantly informed of the rescue efforts.
He was also there to greet each miner as they made it to the surface after their horrible ordeal. “This rescue operation has been so marvellous, so clean, so emotional, that there was no reason not to allow the eyes of the world which have been watching this operation so closely to see it,” said Piñera.
Above Piñera (on right with hardhat over his chest) greets the last miner safely coming to the surface.
Mistress Story
One of my favorite stories was of the miner, his wife and the mistress. Yoni Barrios, one of the 33, was credited for using his first aid skills to help many of miners survive the lonely 17 days before they were reached. But Barrios had a secret, well a not so secret secret: he had a mistress.
Pictured above on the right is Barrios’ wife Marta Salinas and pictured on the left is Barrios’ mistress Susana Valenzuela. Barrios seemed to have no problem admitting he had a mistress and in fact wanted them to be friends. Barrios’ sister told the Daily Telegraph that “He asked them both to go up to the mine to meet him when he came out. He says quite simply that he loves them both, that they are both important to him and he wants them to be friends with each other.” Barrios’ wife was furious and has refused to be there when he came out of the mine.
Above a mocking news story making the play on words about “mine.” This story created a lot of news in the press and was an interesting add on to the fact that the disaster was supposed to be focused on the tragedy and not silly things like this but it did make for a good news story. Read more about how Barrios handled the situation and who he eventually chose here.
Miners Themselves
Lastly I wanted to profile the miners themselves. Below is a compilation of some short biographies, curtesy of a blog called Coal Mountain.
Leader: Raul Bustos, age 40, hydraulics engineer
Bustos was forced to leave his job at the Chilean shipbuilder Asmar, in the port city of Talcahuano, when an earthquake struck in February. Leaving his wife and two children, he found work at the San Jose mine, where he worked on the water supply system.
Juan Aguilar, age 49, supervisor
Aguilar’s wife Cristy Coronado has been camping above the mine every night since her husband became trapped underground, and says that he seems to be in good spirits when she speaks to him. The couple are from the mining town of Los Lagos.
Osman Araya, age 30, miner
Araya has a wife, Angelica Ancalipe, and baby daughter named Britany. Most of his letters have been addressed to them or to his mother. In one video message he said: “I’ll never leave you guys, I’ll fight to the end to be with you.”
Florencio Avalos, age 31, driver
Florencio is the older brother of fellow miner Renan Avalos, and in charge of filming the videos sent up to rescuers and relatives. His father, Alfonso, cried with joy after hearing that one of the three drilling rigs working on the rescue had reached the tunnel adjoining where the miners were trapped.
Renan Avalos, age 29, miner
The younger brother of fellow trapped miner Florencio, Renan decided to start work in the San Jose mine after his brother got a job there. His main contacts on the surface are his father Alfonso and his uncle Wilson Avalos.
Jorge Galleguillos, age 56, miner
Galleguillos’s main contact on the surface is friend Miguel Valenzuela, who had been due to enter the mine on the day it collapsed. Galleguillos is on medication for hypertension. He has asked Valenzuela to keep everything he sends to the surface safe as souvenirs for when he gets out.
Jose Henriquez, age 54, drill master
Henriquez is the group’s official “pastor” and organises the daily prayers at 7.30am and after lunch. He was an evangelical preacher, and has worked in mines for 33 years. His brother, Gaston, also a miner, was once trapped in a mine himself, and has been reassuring Jose from the surface.
Daniel Herrera, age 27, lorry driver
Herrera’s sister Calda told reporters of his plans to keep letters and clothes from the experience, to display in his house. But in letters to relatives, the paramedic’s assistant complained about a psychologist who was treating the men saying he had caused “hysteria” among his workmates.
Juan Illanes, age 52, miner
A former corporal in the Beagle border conflict between Chile and Argentina, Illanes became the first of the 33 men to celebrate his birthday underground. To celebrate turning 52, the authorities allowed Illanes to speak with his wife, Carmen Baeza, for five minutes by video.
Mario Sepulveda, age 39, electrical specialist
Sepulveda regularly presents the videos the miners send up. In one taken in late August he acted as the narrator, taking the viewer on a tour of the 600 square feet subterranean quarters, and the adjoining mile-long tunnel. His contact on the surface is relative Gilberto Espinace.
Luis Urzua, age 54, topographer
Officials claim Urzua has been picked as a leader by his peers, who have nicknamed him “Don Lucho”. In the first moments after the mine collapsed, Urzua ordered the men to huddle and took three miners to scout up the tunnel. He has used his topography training to make detailed maps of their environs.
Richard Villarroel, age 23, mechanic
Villarroel’s family members have been camping above the mine, where he has worked for two years. His mother, Antonia Godoy, said: “I really want to reach in and pull him out of the television screen.”
Grupo Rampa
Leader: Carlos Barrios, age 27, miner
Barrios has emerged as a leader in his group. His mother, Griselda Godoy, has been sending him packages of clothing labelled with his name. She told reporters he was not happy with the way a psychologist had been working with the men.
Claudio Acuna, age 56, miner
Acuna is one of the palomeros, who organise the packages to and from the miners. He became the second of the miners to celebrate a birthday when he turned 54 on 9 September. His wife’s gift was a signed T-shirt from the popular Chilean football club Colo Colo.
Samuel Avalos, age 43, miner
Avalos’s main contact on the surface has been his father, also named Samuel Avalos, aged 70. He had worked in the mine for five months, and now checks the mining area’s air quality.
Yonni Barrios, age 50, ‘the doctor’
Barrios learned first aid through helping his diabetic mother as a child. That secured the position of a general medical adviser to his colleagues. His wife, Marta Salinas, discovered he had a mistress when she came across another woman holding a vigil for him following the accident.
Jose Ojeda, age 46, master driller
Ojeda has been sending sketches to the surface showing how the three groups are divided and the areas where they are sleeping. He is on medication for diabetes, and has asked his niece to print T-shirts for his entire group – all bearing the words “Grupo Rampa”.
Alex Vega Salazar, age 31, heavy machinery mechanic
Salazar’s wife, Jessica Salgado, spoke to him on 4 September. She said: “He is worried about some of his debts. But I have told him not to worry, that I have cancelled them already. You can see his face has changed, that he’s better. I told him that I love him.”
Jimmy Sanchez, age 19, miner
As the youngest of the miners, working in the San Jose mine was Sanchez’s first job. He had been there for only five months before being trapped underground. Now, he checks the mine’s temperature and humidity daily. He has a wife, Helen Avalos, and a three-month-old baby.
Victor Segovia, age 48, electrician
Segovia has a wife and 11-year-old daughter Jocelyn. In a letter to them he wrote: “I try to be strong but when I sleep I dream we are in an oven and when I wake I find myself in eternal darkness. That wears you down…” His daily task is to explain the general situation in the mine to officials.
Claudio Yanez, age 34, drill operator
In August, Yanez’s long-term partner Cristina Nunez proposed to him via letter – the offer was accepted. The couple have two daughters. However, Yanez’s mother and Nunez have been squabbling over who should receive his August wages and donations to the family.
Victor Zamora, age 33, vehicle mechanic
Zamora had no work in the mine on the day of the accident, but went inside to repair a vehicle. Originally from Talcahuano, he began work at the San Jose mine when an earthquake in February hit the city. Zamora has a wife and a young son named Arturo.
Grupo Refugio
Leader: Omar Reygadas, age 56, bulldozer operator
Reygadas had been working at the mine for many years, but how many exactly is not known. He requested to speak first to his youngest son Lucio.
Carlos Bugueno, age 27, miner
Bugueno is a childhood friend of fellow trapped miner Pedro Cortez, who joined the mine at the same time as he did – it has not been reported exactly when. His mother and half-sister, Katharine Castillo, have been holding a vigil for him.
Pedro Cortez, age 24, miner
Cortez started working at the mine at the same time as childhood friend Carlos Bugueno. His main contact on the surface is his mother Doris Contreras, who has been reading the Bible at the San Jose mine since he became trapped underground.
Mario Gomez, age 63, miner
In July, Gomez had a meeting with mine managers to beg them to solve problems that made the mine unsafe. Following that meeting, he told his wife he was going to retire from mining as it was unsafe. He is the oldest of the miners, and has worked in mines since the age of 12.
Franklin Lobos, age 53, driver
When Barcelona player and miner’s son David Villa sent two signed T-shirts to the miners, Lobos received one of them. This could be due to Lobos having played professionally for a local league.
Carlos Mamani, age 23, heavy machinery operator
Bolivian Mamani’s main contact on the surface is his wife Monica Quispe. His father-in-law declared he had no intentions to work in a mine again, following the trauma of being trapped. Prior to the accident he had been working in the mine for only five days.
Edison Pena, age 34, miner
Pena has reportedly been running 10 kilometres a day underground, and it has been suggested he is the most physically fit of the miners. He is also a dedicated Elvis Presley fan, requesting Presley music compilations to be sent down.
Esteban Rojas, age 44, in charge of maintenance
Rojas has sent a letter to the surface asking girlfriend of 25 years, Jessica Ganiez, to marry him. Ganiez says she has already bought the wedding dress. They have three children together and two grandchildren. His brother is fellow miner Pablo Rojas.
Pablo Rojas, age 45, miner
Rojas worked in the mine for six months before the accident. His brother is fellow miner Esteban Rojas. He has a wife and son.
Dario Segovia, age 48, drill operator
Segovia’s father Dario Senior was also a miner, and has spent a week trapped in a mine. Dario’s sister, Maria, has been leading prayers at Camp Hope, where relatives of the miners wait. Others at the camp have nicknamed her “La Alcaldesa”, which translates as “the mayoress”.
Ariel Ticona, age 29, miner
Ticona’s wife, Elizabeth Segovia, gave birth to their first baby on 14 September. Authorities used a fibre-optic link to allow him to watch a video of his daughter’s birth. Ticona asked his wife to name their daughter Esperanza, the Spanish word for “hope”.
Please check out below my website’s pages that were constructed to elaborate and elucidate more about the Chile Mine Disaster:
Home: Trapped Above and Below: Reflections on the Chile Mine Disaster
2. A Miner’s Life For Me (or not): A Glimpse into Before and After the Tragedy
3. Artistic Representations: Personal and Other
4. Chain Reactions: The World’s Responses
5. Works Cited