Chilean President travels to rescue area

CHILE: Chilean President Sebastian Piñera travelled Saturday to the site where 33 miners have been trapped for more than a week, where he was expected to meet with relatives of the victims.

Meanwhile, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne expressed optimism at making initial contact with the trapped workers. “We have all our hope and all our faith in advancing as quickly as possible,” Golborne said, explaining that probes they are drilling into the ground have reached depths of 520, 400, 360 and 350 meters.

Earlier, the Minister said rescuers had not ruled out the possibility that miners may have survived and are aware of the rescue operation. A mining engineer interviewed by the TVN network, Omar Gallardo, said Saturday that if they were still alive after nine days underground, the workers were likely to be extremely dehydrated.

Pedro Riveros, a member of the rescue team, said he believed the miners survived if they did not receive the initial impact of the gold and copper mine’s collapse. The miners are believed to be about 700 meters underground in an emergency refuge in the San Jose Mine, located in the region of Antofagasta, 497 miles from Buenos Aires.

Santiago de Chile, Prensa Latina