Five days after mine collapse, Chile rescue efforts press on
COPIAGO, Chile — Painstaking efforts to reach 33 workers trapped in a Chilean mine continued Tuesday five days after the structure collapsed, as desperate relatives prayed their loved ones would be found alive.
There has been no word on the condition of the workers, who were trapped some 400 meters (1,300 feet) underground when the entrance to the San Esteban copper mine collapsed.
Rescuers at first focused on reaching the miners through a ventilation shaft, but ceased operations when the shaft collapsed on Saturday, dealing the rescue operation a major setback.
Since Sunday, they have worked to drill into the mine, hoping to first pass food and water to the trapped workers and then eventually bring them up to the surface.
But the work has been painstaking, and Mining Minister Laurence Golbourne cautioned Tuesday that it may take up to a week to reach them.
Anxious families have camped out at the site of the copper and gold mine, awaiting news of their loved ones, who include 55-year-old Franklin Lobos, a one-time footballer who played for a number of Chilean clubs and even made the national team that competed in the 1984 Olympics.
A mass was celebrated at the site Tuesday, and prayers were also said for the trapped men at the presidential palace in Santiago.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera visited the rescue site at midnight Saturday on his way home from the presidential inauguration in Colombia.
He pledged to "do everything possible" to get to the trapped miners, but acknowledged he was pessimistic about the outcome.
"This is not easy, and I have to tell you the truth," Pinera said. "The situation is now not only in our hands, but also in the hands of God, and I want to ask him for his help in avoiding the loss of lives."
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
Rescuing efforts in San José de Copiapó. 
A gold mine collapse in Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile has trapped 33 miners since last Thursday. Another collapse occurred on Saturday, that provoked temporary suspension of the rescue works.

Rescue efforts were first focused on a ventilation shaft, but attempts to reach the miners failed. Rescuers have been drilling into the mine since Sunday. "The situation is very complex, the mine continues to have collapses because there is a geological fault-line," said Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, who "pledged to do everything possible to get to the trapped miners," but acknowledged he was pessimistic.

There is no certainty that the miners, who are trapped about 400 meters (1300 feet) below the ground, are still alive.