October 12, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH

Back in August, events and exhibits marked the one-year anniversary of learning that 33 miners who were trapped underground in Chile’s San Jose mine were alive. The rescue, which involved drilling a 2,000 foot shaft and lifting out the miners who’d endured 69 days underground, captivated viewers around the world. The New York Times’ Alexei […]

August 9, 2011 Liz Borkowski, MPH 3Comment

Last week, I was fortunate to be able to attend the opening of a Smithsonian Museum of Natural History exhibit dedicated to the rescue of 33 miners from the San José mine in Chile, and meet two of miners whose story captivated the world as they endured 69 days underground following a mine explosion. Carlos […]

October 20, 2010 Liz Borkowski, MPH 3Comment

After last week’s triumphant rescue of 33 miners from Chile’s San José mine, attention has turned to mine safety in Chile and worldwide. The Associated Press reports that President Sebastian Piñera fired the top regulators from Chile’s mine safety agency and promised to triple its budget. In the weeks following the San José collapse, at […]

October 13, 2010 Liz Borkowski, MPH 6Comment

All 33 of the miners who were trapped in Chile’s San José mine have been safely lifted to the surface, as have the six rescuers who descended into the mine during the operation. Shift supervisor Luis Urzua was the last miner lifted to safety in the specially designed capsule that traversed the more than 2,000 […]

October 13, 2010 Liz Borkowski, MPH 6Comment

Sixty-nine days after an explosion trapped 33 miners 2,000 feet underground in the San José copper and gold mine in Copiapó, Chile, rescuers have begun lifting miners to the surface. As of 6am this morning, eight miners have been pulled to safety: Florencio Avalos, Mario Sepulveda, Juan Illanes, Carlos Mamani, Jimmy Sanchez, Osman Araya, José […]

August 22, 2010 Liz Borkowski, MPH 19Comment

An August 5th collapse at the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile’s Atacama region trapped 33 miners hundreds of meters underground. Rescue teams had been drilling toward a refuge site, where it was hoped the miners had been able to take shelter – and earlier today, a probe sent down into the mine […]