On August 5, 2010, the San Jose mine in Chile’s Atacama Desert collapsed. Thirty-three men were trapped about 700 meters below the surface, and the way out was blocked. Their emergency food was meant to last two or three days.
Seventeen days of silence
The men gathered in a shelter called the refuge and decided to ration everything. They stretched those supplies to 14 days. The shift foreman, Luis Urzua, helped keep them organized and calm, and they voted on big decisions together.
For 17 days, no one above ground knew if they were alive. Then a drill bit broke through and came back up with a note: We are well in the refuge, the 33.
The rescue
Rescue teams drilled a shaft and built a narrow capsule called Fenix. On October 12 and 13, one by one, all 33 men were lifted to the surface over about 24 hours. After 69 days, every one of them came out alive. Millions watched around the world.
What stays with me
They did not make it out because one man was brave. They made it because they stayed together, shared what they had, and kept hope in the dark.
The rest of the story is honest too. After the cameras left, some of the men struggled for years with work and with what they had been through. Coming home is not always the end. If that is you, ask for help and keep going.
Source: read more about the facts here.
Keep reading
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- Faith and hope
- Good news stories How the men organized
The 33 men had a small stock of emergency food and no way to know how long it would have to last, so they rationed it hard. They also did not drift. They formed work teams. Some watched the air, some handled sanitation, and some kept an eye on falling rock. Having jobs gave each day a shape. It also meant no one carried the fear alone. Seventeen days after the collapse, a drill bit came back up with a note attached. The men were alive.
The capsule called Fenix
Finding the men was only the first job. Getting them out took a new machine. The rescue drill known as Plan B broke through to the miners on October 9, 2010. Rescue capsules named Fenix were built by the Chilean navy shipyard ASMAR with help from NASA engineers. The rescue ran on October 12 and 13. All 33 men came up alive, 69 days after the collapse.
>What this story says to me
Hope in a tight place is a decision made again and again. People in hard situations survive partly because they stay together, keep a routine and keep believing that someone is working to reach them.
That is true outside of dramatic stories as well.
Where it meets your life
If you are in a dark stretch, keep a simple routine. Eat, sleep, move and talk to someone. Do not isolate. Hope survives better in company.
Send a note to someone who is struggling and let them know you are thinking of them.
One thing to do today
Write a short message of encouragement to someone today. Even a few words can reach farther than you think.
You never know what your note will mean.
The power of staying together
People in hard situations do better when they stay connected. They share what they have, keep each other’s spirits up and keep a routine. That is true in a crisis and in everyday life.
If you are in a hard stretch, reach for your people instead of pulling away.
The value of a short message
A few words on a page reminded a whole country that hope was alive. We underestimate how powerful a short, honest note can be.
Write one today. Say what you are thankful for or what you see in someone. Hand it over.
When you cannot see daylight
Hold on to something steady, a verse, a routine, a person. Take one hour at a time. Hope is often just refusing to quit one more hour.
Words from Positive Phil
Joy is not the absence of trouble. It is the presence of hope.
