page_title: 2010 Copiapó mining accident
section_title: Legacy and aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: 2010 Copiapó mining accident / Legacy and aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: Los 33 miners attending a ceremony hosted by President Piñera at the Presidential Palace on 24 October 2010 after their rescue from the San Jose Mine.
context_page_description: The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known then as the "Chilean mining accident", began on Thursday, 5 August 2010, with a cave-in at the San José copper–gold mine, located in the Atacama Desert 45 kilometers north of the regional capital of Copiapó, in northern Chile. Thirty-three men, trapped 700 meters underground and 5 kilometers from the mine's entrance via spiraling underground ramps, were rescued after 69 days.
  After the state-owned mining company, Codelco, took over rescue efforts from the mine's owners, exploratory boreholes were drilled. Seventeen days after the accident, a note was found taped to a drill bit pulled back to the surface: "Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33".
  Three separate drilling rig teams, nearly every Chilean government ministry, the United States' NASA space agency, and a dozen corporations from around the world cooperated in completing the rescue. On 13 October 2010 the men were winched to the surface one at a time, in a specially built capsule, as an estimated 1 billion people watched via video stream worldwide.
  With few exceptions all were in good medical condition with no long-term physical effects anticipated.
caption: Los 33 at the Presidential Palace on 24 October 2010
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