Qualla: The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground https://qualla.com/chilean-miners en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:05 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/6/7/j/v/chilean-miners-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground https://qualla.com/chilean-miners The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground: Introduction https://qualla.com/chilean-miners/ Photo credit desierto_atacama, CC BY-SA 2.0. On August 5, 2010, the San José copper-gold mine in Chile's Atacama Desert collapsed, trapping 33 miners in a refuge chamber 2,300 feet underground. For 17 days, the world didn't know if they were alive. Then a drill bit broke through into the chamber and came back with a message taped to it: 'Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33' - 'We are well in the shelter, the 33.' What followed was a 69-day ordeal of survival, ingenuity, and hope, culminating in a rescue watched by a billion people worldwide. One by one, the miners were lifted to the surface in a specially built capsule called the Fénix. The last miner emerged on October 13, 2010. All 33 survived.

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Image: desierto_atacama | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/7/j/v/chilean-miners-wk/67jv-the-chilean-mine-rescue-69-days-underground-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground: The Collapse https://qualla.com/chilean-miners/ Photo credit desierto_atacama, CC BY-SA 2.0. The San José mine had a troubled safety record - previous collapses had killed workers, and the mine had been temporarily closed for safety violations. On August 5, 2010, a massive block of diorite - about 700,000 tons of rock - collapsed near the main shaft, sealing the mine. T...

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Image: desierto_atacama | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/7/j/v/chilean-miners-wk/67jv-the-chilean-mine-rescue-69-days-underground-the-collapse.mp3 0:06 2 full The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground: The Search https://qualla.com/chilean-miners/ Photo credit desierto_atacama, CC BY-SA 2.0. Rescue teams began drilling immediately, but finding the miners was like threading a needle through half a mile of rock. The first eight probes missed. On August 22 - 17 days after the collapse - the ninth probe broke through into the refuge area. When it was pulled back, the mes...

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Image: desierto_atacama | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/7/j/v/chilean-miners-wk/67jv-the-chilean-mine-rescue-69-days-underground-the-search.mp3 0:06 3 full The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground: The Communication https://qualla.com/chilean-miners/ Photo credit desierto_atacama, CC BY-SA 2.0. Once contact was established, small tubes called 'palomas' (doves) were used to send supplies, medicine, and communication devices to the miners. Video links allowed the miners to see their families. The world watched interviews with men trapped underground. A fiber-optic cable p...

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]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/7/j/v/chilean-miners-wk/67jv-the-chilean-mine-rescue-69-days-underground-the-communication.mp3 0:06 4 full The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground: The Fénix https://qualla.com/chilean-miners/ Photo credit desierto_atacama, CC BY-SA 2.0. Rescuing the miners required boring a shaft wide enough for a man to pass through. Three drilling operations ran simultaneously. On October 9, one reached the miners. A rescue capsule called 'Fénix' (Phoenix) was designed and built specifically for the operation - narrow enough t...

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]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/7/j/v/chilean-miners-wk/67jv-the-chilean-mine-rescue-69-days-underground-the-f-nix.mp3 0:06 5 full The Chilean Mine Rescue: 69 Days Underground: The Aftermath https://qualla.com/chilean-miners/ Photo credit desierto_atacama, CC BY-SA 2.0. The rescue was watched by an estimated one billion people - one of the largest television audiences in history. The miners became instant celebrities, met presidents, received gifts and job offers. Some struggled with the sudden fame. Some suffered PTSD. All had their lives chang...

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]]> Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/7/j/v/chilean-miners-wk/67jv-the-chilean-mine-rescue-69-days-underground-the-aftermath.mp3 0:06 6 full