Peru miners rescued after 7 days
PERU - Agence France-Presse
Miner Javier Tapia (2nd L) is helped out of the Cabeza de Negro gold and copper mine in Yauca del Rosario, Peru. AP photo
Rescuers freed nine miners from a caved-in copper mine in southern Peru on April 11, ending a seven-day ordeal during which the men had survived deep underground.The miners emerged from the Cabeza de Negro mine one by one, wrapped in blankets and wearing dark glasses to protect their eyes against the bright light of day, reporters at the scene said. “This moment, it’s like being reborn,” said Edwin Bellido after a tearful reunion with his wife and two young daughters. “We joked and did physical exercise to pass the time and not get anxious. We used our hardhats to eat the liquid food sent to us through a hose.”
Miners raised a red and white Peruvian flag atop a pole to celebrate the rescue and President Ollanta Humala, who arrived on April 10, joined relatives in welcoming the men back to the surface. Trapped since April 5, the miners, aged 22 to 59 and including a father and son, had escaped injury in the cave-in and were huddled together in the same place.
