(14 October 2010) The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) congratulated the Chilean people and government today for the successful operation to rescue 33 miners trapped in the San José mine in the Atacama Desert, in the north of the country.
In a letter from ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena to Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, the Commission gives special recognition to the miners themselves, "whose temper, discipline and sense of companionship helped to keep them alive and with surprising strength", and their families, "who always maintained a solid and certain sense of hope".
ECLAC also acknowledged the team of people that planned and carried out the rescue efforts and the government of Chile, "which made every possible effort to arrive at this happy ending."
"This event has moved the entire world. It is one of those rare moments in humanity in which the limits of the human condition caused by the drama of being buried 700 meters for almost 70 days meets the technological frontier to organize and implement a rescue operation, and above all, it intersects with the border of human will, of the will of a people to do what at first seemed impossible," said Bárcena.
"Chile has given an example to the world and the world has understood it that way," concludes the letter.
In an unprecedented rescue operation led by the Government of Chile, the last of the 33 miners was rescued last night in good health after being trapped underground since 5 August, when the San José mine caved in.
For inquiries, please contact ECLAC's Public Information and Web Services Section.
Email: dpisantiago@cepal.org; telephone: (56-2) 210-2040
