The miners were advised to restrain from drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes for medical and safety reasons.
“This is an operation that is probably unprecedented in scope,” said James Polk, a physician at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and one of the expert team members, during a Tuesday press conference.
“Never have so many been trapped for so long so deeply,” Polk said. “We were very impressed with the actions by the medical team, and it was a very collegial experience.”
The miners, buried in the bowels of a small gold and copper mine in northern Chile, are likely to be rescued in October. Some predict, however, that the operation may take several months.
{etRelated 41842, 41659Thus far, the rescue team has dug a 6-inch-wide tunnel drilled into solid rock, which has to be broadened to 2 feet wide. The diggers have to drill a 2,300-foot vertical tunnel in order to reach the trapped miners. They have currently made it to a depth of 325 feet.
One of the miners suffers from a strong toothache. Another has problems with hypertension. But this did not prevent the miners from enjoying the soccer match between Chile and Ukraine live on Tuesday.
