In August of 2010, thirty-three miners were trapped below the surface of the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile. A main ramp had collapsed due to seismic activity and geologic instability in the area, and the miners were left trapped more than 2,000 feet underground. The mine itself had a long record of safety violations in the past, and had also been convicted of numerous fines and accidents throughout the years. For seventeen days, nobody heard from any of the miners. All they had was three days’ worth of emergency food, and they were forced to ration what they had to keep spirits up amid the growing hopelessness. Eventually, exploratory boreholes were drilled, and emergency officials were able to make contact with the trapped miners;
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Based on witness accounts, the mine had been making strange noises that are not common in the parts of the mine where they were being heard in the time leading up to the collapse (Campbell, 2015). Due to the dangers surrounding this mine, on several occasions the miners have been known to refuse to work a minute longer and proceed to evacuate the mine until their nerves have calmed and they feel safe going back to work (Campbell, 2015). The morning of the collapse, several men, supervisors and people of authority had been trying to convince one another that there was something seriously wrong with the mine that day, but none could ever be convinced enough to abandon the job. According to one of the men who drove the truck that carried men in and out of the mine for their shifts, Franklin Lobos, when he passed the main boss of the mine, Carlos Pinilla, he seemed worried. He was setting up a plan to get more provisions, as well as blankets and first aid kits into the Refuge, as if preparing for an emergency (Campbell, 2015). At many times throughout the San José mines’ functioning prior to this disaster, several contracting companies recommended the purchase of equipment that would be able to detect any potentially catastrophic movements in the mountain, however none of these systems were ever purchased (Campbell, …show more content…
The investigation tried to set up the criminal obligation against the mine owners for the unsafe conditions at the mine, which did not meet essential rules and regulations and of Sernageomin; the government mining agency authorities who intentionally permitted to keep the mine working in an unsafe condition. "The mine owners “could have avoided” the collapse and Sernageomin, had failed to supervise mining operations and enforce its own decisions" (The New York Times, 2011). According to some reports, mine owners and other related company officials did not adopt the work safety measures required by the authorities, but furthermore they blamed government agencies and the workers for the
Based on witness accounts, the mine had been making strange noises that are not common in the parts of the mine where they were being heard in the time leading up to the collapse (Campbell, 2015). Due to the dangers surrounding this mine, on several occasions the miners have been known to refuse to work a minute longer and proceed to evacuate the mine until their nerves have calmed and they feel safe going back to work (Campbell, 2015). The morning of the collapse, several men, supervisors and people of authority had been trying to convince one another that there was something seriously wrong with the mine that day, but none could ever be convinced enough to abandon the job. According to one of the men who drove the truck that carried men in and out of the mine for their shifts, Franklin Lobos, when he passed the main boss of the mine, Carlos Pinilla, he seemed worried. He was setting up a plan to get more provisions, as well as blankets and first aid kits into the Refuge, as if preparing for an emergency (Campbell, 2015). At many times throughout the San José mines’ functioning prior to this disaster, several contracting companies recommended the purchase of equipment that would be able to detect any potentially catastrophic movements in the mountain, however none of these systems were ever purchased (Campbell, …show more content…
The investigation tried to set up the criminal obligation against the mine owners for the unsafe conditions at the mine, which did not meet essential rules and regulations and of Sernageomin; the government mining agency authorities who intentionally permitted to keep the mine working in an unsafe condition. "The mine owners “could have avoided” the collapse and Sernageomin, had failed to supervise mining operations and enforce its own decisions" (The New York Times, 2011). According to some reports, mine owners and other related company officials did not adopt the work safety measures required by the authorities, but furthermore they blamed government agencies and the workers for the