A review by slferg
Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free, by Héctor Tobar
5.0
The 33 men trapped in the collapse of a Chilean mine. All 33 were uninjured and there were no deaths from the collapsing, ill-maintained mine. These 33 men survived for 17 days on just a few cookies, cans of tuna, water from the tanks for the machinery and canned milk. They were almost starved with a little bit of food every few days when a drill finally penetrated the mine tunnel and they could let the outside world know they were all there and still alive. Experts from all over the world came to give advice on diet (how to reintroduce food to starved men so they weren't killed from the effect on the body of eating again), how to keep up their spirits until they could be rescued (the mine collapsed in August and they were not brought to the surface until October), a psychiatrist was brought to counsel them individually through the communication line they dropped and families were allowed to visit briefly. One of the miners had brought pencil and paper down into the mine with him to make notes of some of the equipment and ended up keeping a diary of the time they were down there. The families had rallied at the mine and insisted the miners be searched for and when found, brought out. There was world wide publicity and some publicity seekers caused problems. But the miners realized that because of this unprecedented attempt, if they were rescued there would be money made and they needed to stick together to be sure that there was a fair share of the money to each miner. No one should take advantage of another for gain, because the story was all of theirs together.
All of these men were very different characters, each in the mine for his own reasons; mainly it was a desperate attempt to raise money for their families because this was not one of the better mines and did not make much profit.
But this is the story with references to the diary, letters, interviews with each of the miners and their families. The struggle was real. They had to find a new way to get the men out because a huge rock and fallen from the top of the mine and block the exit ramp on many levels. It was too big to blow up and the mountain was still unstable with various rock falls continuing the whole time the men were there.
A courageous and fascinating story of disparate personalities and stress and fear.
All of these men were very different characters, each in the mine for his own reasons; mainly it was a desperate attempt to raise money for their families because this was not one of the better mines and did not make much profit.
But this is the story with references to the diary, letters, interviews with each of the miners and their families. The struggle was real. They had to find a new way to get the men out because a huge rock and fallen from the top of the mine and block the exit ramp on many levels. It was too big to blow up and the mountain was still unstable with various rock falls continuing the whole time the men were there.
A courageous and fascinating story of disparate personalities and stress and fear.