Four Men Trapped After Ecuador Mine Collapses
By: Associated Press
Published October 15, 2010
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1015/Four-men-trapped-after-Ecuador-mine-collapses
Summary: A tunnel collapsed in a gold mine in Portovelo, Ecuador. The collapsed has trapped 4 miners 490 feet underground. Rescue efforts are beginning to save these miners. A minor who survived the collapse told authorities that four of his fellow miners were still trapped down in the mine. The collapse of the mine happened at approximately 3:30 in the morning. It then blocked a tunnel and trapped workers at the 5th level of the mine. The condition of these men is unknown. It is said that 50 workers are digging out the main tunnel and other workers were preparing to dig a hole from the side to reach the gallery where the miners are believed to be trapped. This collapse comes only two days after the Chile miners were rescued from nearly half-mile down in a collapsed mine in Chile. They were trapped for 69 days. There is also a rescue mission going on for miners trapped in Colombia.
Opinion: This is really a sad story for these people. To watch the miners in Chile get rescued and then to have another collapsing just days after these people were rescued is really heartbreaking and ironic. But seriously, this is now the third incident of collapsing mines over the past two months in South America. Either the Earth's structure in South America is horrendous or the mining companies in South America don't have too many precautions. People are dying all over this continent because of these mining incidents. The mining companies really need to buckle down and get better safety for these people. My hopes and prayers go out to the families of these victims.
Questions:
1. Do you think the governments are doing a good job of helping these miners? Why or why not?
2. Do you think there will be more mine collapses in South America in the near future? Why or why not?
3. Do the mining companies in South America need to do a better job of protecting their miners? Why or why not?
I also think that these mining accidents are not a coincidence. I believe that the earth has been dug up to a point where its starting to fall on itself. For those miners stuck in the mines, I feel sorry for them too. But if we keep digging up more and more mines, who knows how many more people will die in the process? We were fortuate enough to get all miners out in the previous incident but we might not be so lucky this time. Hopefully, we will be able to find another source of energy without putting the lives of others at risk.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to number 3:
I personally think South America's doing all that they can to protect these miners. How could you control whether or not the Earth decides to collapse on itself. Look at all the past disasters that have happended: Katrina, Haiti's earthquake, Mount Saint Helens. The most that governments have achieved to was to get the civilians to evacuate the area; they couldnt stop the disaster itself from happening. But with these mines, its unpredictable as to when they we collapse so I believe that there is nothing more the government can to protect these miners from collapsing mines.
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteThis collapsed gold mine is very dangerous. I am shocked that it happened just days after other miners were rescued. After hearing this story I think something needs to be put into action to make mining safer. The mining companies in South America definitely need to check over their safety precautions because obviously they aren't working out too well. I cannot believe that another rescue mission in Colombia is going on while this one is happening. That is three mining incidents right in a row! Hopefully these miners can work together and stay alive long enough to be rescued.
Here's a clip from the Chile Mine Rescue that happened earlier this month...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkosa1evTFw
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteThe fact that these incidents keep reoccurring is appalling. Something needs to be done to assure the safety of these workers. Many more precautions need to be taken in the mines since the same thing keeps happening. I cannot even imagine the horrific conditions they are facing and hope that relief will come soon. The Chile mine collapse was a horrible calamity, but it is truly inspiring to see how all the men were rescued and kept the hope alive the whole time they were trapped. In the future, lets hope for more safety precautions. Meanwhile, the miners need to rescued as fast as possible, my thoughts are with them and their families.
Answer to Question 3:
The government most definitely needs to do a better job of protecting the miners. Incidents like this one are appearing more and more often. This points to ill prepared mines and a government that is not involved enough. Workers need to be able to do their jobs in an environment that is as safe as possible. Although there will always be danger involved in this job, precautions need to be put into place to make it less dangerous so workers can do their jobs.