Buried Alive: Chile Mine Rescue
1 X 1hr Co Production for Channel 4, NOVA
On 5 August 2010, all 33 of the day shift miners at the San Jose
mine in Chile were missing and feared killed when their copper and
gold mine collapsed. For 17 days no one knew whether they were
alive or dead.
Miraculously, after all hope was lost, on the 17th day the
specialist drilling rigs looking for signs of life smashed through
into the tunnel where the men had been clinging on. All 33 of the
men were alive and well.
Channel 4 were given unprecedented access to the drilling rigs,
engineers and medics for the definitive story of how this audacious
rescue was carried out.
Buried Alive: The Chilean Mine Rescue follows the extraordinary
story of the 33 miners, trapped underground for 70 days. Above
ground, the Channel 4 film makers had unique access to document the
highs and lows of the drilling teams as they pounded their way
through almost half a mile of granite.
Below ground the programme follows how the miners survived for so
long and hears first hand from the doctors and psychologists who
were keeping them alive and sane, giving extraordinary insight into
the underground hell they had to endure.
The rescue of all 33 Chilean miners has been an extraordinary feat
of ingenuity and daring. This documentary explains in detail the
challenges they faced and the technology they used to overcome all
odds.
Buried Alive: The Chilean Mine Rescue gains unique access to the
key players involved to tell the story of the tireless, tough and
emotional effort that went on at the San Jose Mine, away from the
glare of the news cameras.
