Rescued Chilean miners return to scene year later

SAN JOSE MINE—A group of the Chilean miners rescued in an operation that captivated the world a year ago returned to the San Jose mine Thursday for a solemn ceremony and to lay the first stone for a monument to the occasion.

“I want to offer thanks to God for protecting us and allowing us to emerge safe and sound,” Omar Reygadas, one of the 33 miners trapped underground for 69 days, said at the ceremony at the mine in Chile’s northern Atacama desert.

“We will never have the time to thank everyone for their prayers and the tears shed for us around the world,” said Reygadas, who was among the 17 rescued miners attending the ceremony.

The first stone for a monument to the rescue, to be called “Hope,” was laid outside the mine.

Engineers, rescue workers and others were in attendance at the event recalling the dramatic two-month rescue effort. But nearly half of the miners were absent.

Among the miners, who enjoyed unprecedented celebrity after the rescue, seven are still on sick leave, and most are without steady work. A few have returned to the mines.

“The first months were difficult, but we are now getting back into the rhythm we had before,” said Dario Segovia, who now sells fruit at local markets.

“The mine today is deserted and that brings back memories. It is painful that not everyone is here.”

Bolivian Carlos Mamani, the only non-Chilean among the 33 rescued, was arrested on Wednesday on domestic violence charges in the nearby city of Copiapo, local media reported without providing details.

The miners who did come with their families found the gates of the San Jose mine closed, its entrance fenced in with a sign saying “Danger.”

Also absent Thursday was President Sebastian Pinera, who was at the scene a year ago to greet the rescued miners in person.

In his place was Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, who directed in part the rescue operation and earned enough fame to be considered a possible presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, the San Esteban mining company, which operated the complex, agreed to pay 25 percent of rescue costs, officials said in Santiago. The cost has been estimated at $22 million, according to the newspaper La Tercera.

A year ago on Thursday, the miraculous “rebirth” of 33 Chilean miners held the world transfixed in a 22-hour dramatic rescue with the men hauled one by one back to the surface after two months trapped underground.

Millions watched as the drama unfolded on television after weeks of painstaking efforts to drill down to reach the men trapped 622 meters (2,040 feet) down after a cave-in.

More than 600 engineers, rescue workers and doctors took part in the complex, difficult operation to get the miners back after the mine collapsed around them on August 5, 2010.