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Trapped Tassie miners given iPods.

Chundles

Chundles

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jul 4, 2005
12,037
493
Two miners, trapped 1km (0.62 miles) underground in a Tasmanian gold mine were given iPods today to keep their spirits up.

The two miners were found alive in the mine 6 days after the collapse that killed one of their workmates. They are believed to be in good condition and will hopefully be rescued within the next few days. They are currently being fed via a tube into the cage that protected them when the roof of the mine collapsed in an earthquake last week.

The current stage of the rescue is precarious as drilling slowly continues through highly unstable earth.


Good to hear they're doing OK, hopefully they'll be out within 48 hours. I'm amazed they survived 6 days without food or water trapped so far underground. Gonna be a very happy community down in Tassie when they do finally get rescued - very similar to the Stuart Diver rescue from the Thredbo landslide so many years ago.
 
what would be nice....

is if they threw down iPod video's with video's of their families already installed. That would be pretty cute - I wish them all the best

F
 
Sorry for the double post on MR, since a later thread may be deleted.

Heart lifting given some of the mining disasters we have seen in the US of late that there is hope for these miners.

Sometimes those that are facing their darkest moments, just need a little hope to get them through.

My prayers go out to them, and all that have lost their lives and face tough times from disasters in the mines.
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Well, they're still down there - 10 days now. The report is that they'll be out sometime tomorrow.

Both of them are cracking jokes (saying they were in a two-star hotel and that they were the two stars) and are otherwise OK.

The Foo Fighters was on their list of requested music for the iPods and Dave Grohl has promised them both a beer, anywhere, anytime - the highest show of respect for an Australian - and they have said they will hold him to his word.
 
I hadn't heard this yet. Good to know they're being entertained down there. I hope they can get them out soon. I can't imagine being stuck down there so long in the conditions they are in. It's amazing they survived!
 
Where do you go to the toilet when you're trapped like that? It must really smell down there. You know.....B.O, "excrements", etc. Maybe send them some deodorant as well.

I know this seems relatively unimportant considering the situation down there, but you'd probably help them out more than you think if their situation wasn't as "gross."

mad jew said:
Has someone sent them a charger too?
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As what, a joke? :p
 
Amazing story. It must really suck to be trapped in that mine,
but at least they are getting free iPods out of the deal (I assume they get to keep them)! :eek: :)
 
dmw007 said:
Amazing story. It must really suck to be trapped in that mine,
but at least they are getting free iPods out of the deal (I assume they get to keep them)! :eek: :)
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It is incredible they are alive. The media is going to town with the story aswell.

We better be careful how much attention and free things they get, they might want to stay down there after all!
 
Well, this morning at 6 AM the trapped miners were rescued, and are reportedly in good health. :)
 
Shamus said:
Well, this morning at 6 AM the trapped miners were rescued, and are reportedly in good health. :)
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Good to hear that everyone is okay. :)


Now for the important question- do they get to keep the iPods? ;) :)
 
mad jew said:
Yay, finally! I'm glad they're out. I still don't quite understand why it took so long though.
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I don't get it either. I'm glad they got out. Not just because they're safe now but because I was getting sick of hearing, "they should be out tomorrow" everyday for 2 weeks.

I read somewhere, that there was apparently a quicker way of getting to them, though it may not have been quite as safe.
 
Yeah, but back to the iPod thing. I probably would have gone with food, maybe water.
 
mad jew said:
Yay, finally! I'm glad they're out. I still don't quite understand why it took so long though.
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The area in which they were buried was incredibly unstable, one false move and they would've been dead. The last metre or so of the rescue tunnel was made of rock so hard that many of the miners had never seen such difficult conditions. Once they did the blast with 50 very small explosions that cracked the rock it proceeded quite quickly. I saw on one of the daily news programs some of the rescue team brought a sample of the rock to the surface - about the size of one of those pre-fab besser blocks for building retaining walls. They swung picks and hammers at it and they just bounced right off.

They're out, they're in remarkably good condition - they walked out of the mine entrance to meet their family before leaving for Launceston for a thorough check-up where the doctors pronounced them fighting fit. They'll be attending the funeral of the third miner, Larry Knight, who was found dead in the early days of the collapse.

The Beaconsfield Pub has been pouring free beers for everyone since the miners were finally freed at 6am, the rescue team and media had gone through 2 kegs by 7:30am when I saw the news. I think these guys will be drinking for free for the rest of their lives. After two weeks stuck in a cage just barely big enough for the two of them 925m below ground you'd want to hope they'll never pay for another beer.
 
Did they keep the iPods?

Did they keep the iPods?

Cos it'd be unfair if they did - I waited outside the Regents Street store overnight for a lucky bag - and no free iPod. It was bloody cold that night - at least those guys were warm, and had gold!

:)

But seriously - did they keep the iPods?
 
FireArse said:
Did they keep the iPods?

Cos it'd be unfair if they did - I waited outside the Regents Street store overnight for a lucky bag - and no free iPod. It was bloody cold that night - at least those guys were warm, and had gold!

:)

But seriously - did they keep the iPods?
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Yeah, they were given them in an attempt to keep their minds healthy in the face of what was a very long extraction procedure - doctors have given them an initial physical and mental clean bill of health, no doubt in part due to the mental stimulation that music can provide.

Once they had got the provisions tube down to them and could provide them with adequate food and water to gradually and safely bring them back from dehydration/starvation (they weren't even discovered until 5 days into the ordeal) then the doctors moved on to ensuring they wouldn't go to pieces when they got out. And they didn't - they walked out of the lift, grabbed their timecards off the wall for the last time with a triumphant flourish and raised their clenched fists into the air in a giant victory salute with crowds of onlookers cheering as they were rushed by their relieved families, embracing them in a bear hug. It was a wonderful and quintessentially Australian sight, there will be no Oprah "how do you feel" BS stories just recaps and a tale of a tremendous escape from the depths of the earth.

I dare say Beaconsfield will be awash in celebratory beer for a while yet to come - tempered by the memory of the miner who didn't make it out, Larry Knight, who was buried today in Launceston.
 
mad jew said:
Thanks for the insight Chundles. Appreciated. :cool:
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Yeah, thanks Chundles for providing the wealth of information and perspective on this event. :)

Its a relief to see the ordeal over, and the miners safe. Im sure Beaconsfield-folk will be in jubilation, but I would be a bugger for the town if the mine was to be shut down, it was its main focus after all...:(
 
First pictures of trapped/recued miners

I was sent this by a friend from Australia; I hope it is the sort of light-hearted expression of relief that was felt by all who were concerned about their plight. Certainly I was extremely happy that everything ended so well.

View attachment 47120
 
UKnjb said:
I was sent this by a friend from Australia; I hope it is the sort of light-hearted expression of relief that was felt by all who were concerned about their plight. Certainly I was extremely happy that everything ended so well.

View attachment 47120
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Oooh!! Haven't seen that one - I've only seen the one where they were asleep.


Oh and this one of one of them leaving the mine
zoolander02.jpg


And the first photo by the rescuers...
zoolander_miner_1.jpg
 
max_altitude said:
How does the half-naked german lady fit into it all? :p :D
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Seconded!!!! What on earth .... was she down there with them, complete with ropes and stuff? Um --- if so, no wonder they didn't come out for so long. :)

PS. Really glad that my attachment didn't pi$$ anyone off - cultural differences in humour and tragedy and stuff. Phew!!! :)
 
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