Radio 4 Live
I was invited as a guest on Saturday 28 August, on Radio 4 Saturday Live to discuss how miners and mining communities cope with tragic events including mining disasters. With some nostalgia and a few unpleasant memories of my 23 years as a younger coalminer, the interviewer understandably moved to the fantastic breaking news about the 33 Chilean miners trapped in a copper/gold mine.
Chilean miners
The joyful news that the miners trapped underground in the Chilean Atacama Desert were alive was a fantastic moment. Nevertheless the euphoria and new found optimism for their safe return must not divert their Government’s attention away from the Mine owners’ responsibility for the tragedy.
The Chilean miner’s and their union had been complaining for ages about lack of safe working practises and conditions at the mine. When the roof collapsed the miners tried to rescue themselves by climbing the emergency ladder in a ventilation shaft that should have lead them safely to the surface, only to find that the ladders were only fitted a third of the way up. The evacuation exit at the mine was clear for 48 hours after the accident, and the miners could have gotten out safe if the ladder had been fully in place. I have opened an online Facebook group, “Rescue the Chile 33”, if you have internet access please join and send a message of solidarity to the Chilean miners and their families.
Radio 4 Live / Chilean Miners
Radio 4 Live
I was invited as a guest on Saturday 28 August, on Radio 4 Saturday Live to discuss how miners and mining communities cope with tragic events including mining disasters. With some nostalgia and a few unpleasant memories of my 23 years as a younger coalminer, the interviewer understandably moved to the fantastic breaking news about the 33 Chilean miners trapped in a copper/gold mine.
Chilean miners
The joyful news that the miners trapped underground in the Chilean Atacama Desert were alive was a fantastic moment. Nevertheless the euphoria and new found optimism for their safe return must not divert their Government’s attention away from the Mine owners’ responsibility for the tragedy.
The Chilean miner’s and their union had been complaining for ages about lack of safe working practises and conditions at the mine. When the roof collapsed the miners tried to rescue themselves by climbing the emergency ladder in a ventilation shaft that should have lead them safely to the surface, only to find that the ladders were only fitted a third of the way up. The evacuation exit at the mine was clear for 48 hours after the accident, and the miners could have gotten out safe if the ladder had been fully in place. I have opened an online Facebook group, “Rescue the Chile 33”, if you have internet access please join and send a message of solidarity to the Chilean miners and their families.