All 33 Miners Rescued, 2010 Copiapó Mining Accident, Chile

Rescuers attempted to bypass the rockfall on the main entryway through alternative passages but each route was blocked by fallen rock or threatened by ongoing rock movement. A second collapse occurred at the stricken mine on 7 August when rescuers were trying to gain access via a ventilation shaft and they were forced to use heavy machinery. Out concern that additional attempts pursuing this route would cause further geological movement within the mine, attempts to reach the trapped miners through previously existing shafts were halted and other means to find them were sought.
Due to the worsening situation and rising concern by the Chilean population deeply sympathetic to the plight both the miners and their families, especially following closely on the heels sharp criticism the government's previous handling the latest major Chilean earthquake and tsunami, President Piñera returned to Chile from the presidential inauguration Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia to take direct charge the emergency response and the search for the lost miners.