« merci encore | Main | happy? »

chi! chi! le!

October 13, 2010

'I have been with God and I have been with the devil. Thankfully God has won,' one of the rescued miners said today. What a quote, what a day and what a coup for Chile to extract the 33 stoical miners from half a kilometre underground so smoothly and in such a short space of time.

I must confess that I have not done very much in the past 24 hours, as I started watching the BBC's live coverage of the rescue operation (with the excellent Tim Wilcox) shortly before midnight last night and have been utterly gripped ever since.

The bravery and relentlessly positive attitude of the miners, the joy of their families, the hands-on approach of the mining minister Laurence Golborne - waiting at the lift shaft to hug every rescued miner as they stepped out of that claustrophobic pod - and the jolly billionaire president with blingingly white teeth: I've loved every uplifting minute of the rescue drama.

There are so many wonderful strands to this story - the triumph of hope over adversity, survival against all odds, the power of positivity, of teamwork and tenacity, and of human beings striving to help other human beings. No wonder it has brought a smile (and a tear) to millions of peoples' faces around the world today. Bravo Chile!

comments (8)

1. Posted by francisca anaradoh on October 13, 2010 10:14 PM

What a wonderful attitude the miners have had all those while!!Amazing spirit!!Something to inspire us all in the face of adversity.

2. Posted by Loraine on October 14, 2010 9:08 AM

Totally agree with all that has been said. Nothing much was done in this house yesterday but wouldn't have missed it for the world.

3. Posted by Ray D on October 14, 2010 11:18 AM

It was great to see them get out safely and much sooner than was originally anticipated. I was also highly impressed by the bravery shown by the rescue team who willingly went down into the mine knowing there was a chance they may never get out again if things went wrong.


4. Posted by gwenda on October 14, 2010 11:51 AM

Bravo Chile indeed - it was truly riveting and humbling television. Glad I was not working and able to watch almost every minute - just pray that in the coming months the psychological effects are not too great

5. Posted by mimi pompom on October 14, 2010 11:51 AM

Hi Ray,

I totally agree. I wouldn't have wanted to be the first into that rescue pod!

Mimi

6. Posted by Eric on October 14, 2010 11:55 AM

I also watched the events in Chile unfolding for most of the day.......Brave rescuers to go INTO the mine.Brave men to retain some sort of sanity under such conditions for that length of time...I flicked over between Sky, CNN and BBC and I also thought Tim Wilcox did the best job of the 3

7. Posted by anna on October 14, 2010 5:29 PM

I thought that the greatrest bravery was of the first rescue man to a) risk his life going down to the trapped miners in the pod (with no idea whether or not the pod would get there) and b) being the LAST man down in the chamber all alone, getting himself into the pod with it SWINGING all over the place and ascending with no-one left down there to assist him if it went wrong. I felt sick!!!


8. Posted by sherry on October 14, 2010 6:45 PM

Absolutely. I sat enthralled at the drama unfolding on our TV screen. In a world where we hear of atrocity and suffering on a daily basis, and where people often look over their shoulders in fear, what an uplifting event to witness. Watching live with millions around the world, 'human beings striving to help other human beings' really does unite the human race and brings a lump to the throat.

post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)