Trapped Below

70 days after being trapped about 700 meters below ground, the Chilean miners are going to finally (hopefully) see day light again. Hopefully, all 33 of them, plus the rescuers make it safe and sound.

I was watching CNN this morning and saw the final preparations going on. The rescuers will be put inside a very narrow capsule and will be lowered down to check the 33 trapped miners and then each miner will be pulled up through the same capsule one by one. Apparently, the speed of the capsule is currently planned at 3kph. The dessert is actually elevated (on top of a mountain) and so the pressure are tremendous. Nobody has done this rescue method before and so apparently the strongest and most familiar with the mine will be pulled up first.

Questions arise about the mental fitness of these 33 miners. The symptoms will probably not be evident today, but maybe after it all sank in there. I then turned to wonder if I would have the mental fitness to be isolated for over 2 months with the same people in a very narrow environment. On one hand, these miners are lucky, there's 33 of them, there's someone to talk to. But still, think about not being able to get out of your house, nor even say daylight, and not have the freedom to move around. That will probably be too much for me.

I salute these miners who have hanged in there. I salute the rescuers who have never lost interest in their rescue mission. I salute their families who have never lost hope that they will see their loved ones again.

Today I'm proud to be an actually walking, feeling and overwhelmed human being.