A ‘Plan B’ for saving 33 Chilean miners has made good progress in its first days of drilling but engineers are downplaying chances of a quicker rescue than the two to three months authorities expect.
The second drilling operation, which began on Sunday, reached a depth of 123m by midday yesterday according to engineer Miguel Fort.
Engineers say the ‘Plan B’ must tunnel 620m below ground in order to reach the men.
The first drilling operation started work on 30 August.
That process could take up to four months and requires drilling down the full 700m into the mine by enlarging an existing shaft being used to supply the miners with food, water and other goods.
‘Plan A,’ which aims to first bore a 33cm wide pilot hole that will then be doubled using a special drill bit to 66cm, has so far tunneled only 113m.
But despite the rapid drilling of the second effort, Mr Fort cautioned against hopes of accelerating the timetable, which still calls for reaching the miners - trapped since 5 August - by November at the earliest.
‘This was already expected,’ he said of the progress, adding that the teams were expanding an existing shaft.
Rescue team member Rene Aguilar said that the ‘Plan B’ drill, known as the Scrhramm T-130 and nicknamed ‘the miracle’ by the relatives of the miners, is expected to advance between 1m to 3m per hour depending on the type of rock.
‘The timetable is unchanged,’ Mr Aguilar added.
With two drills already working on rescue shafts to reach the men, a third is expected to begin work later this month.
The ‘Plan C’ option involves a drill that would have to reach down just 597m, shortening the rescue time to perhaps two months.
But it will not be ready to start work until 18 September.
The men got a glimpse of hope yesterday as they heard echoes deep in the mine of the two machines drilling to reach them.
‘They are happy because they feel like there is progress,’ said Mr Aguilar.
‘Based on the noise, they estimated themselves that the machines were about 100m below the surface ... A miner's ear is best of all.’
In the meantime, experts have been working to manage the miners' psychological help and keep them sane. Officials have also offered them multiple entertainment options.
A recent delivery to the men's underground refuge included 80 letters, and with the dispatch of an audio-visual system linked up via fibre-optic cables, the miners have been able to video-conference with their relatives too.
Meanwhile doctors revealed they are treating one of the trapped miners for a toothache and another for a pre-existing condition of high blood pressure.
Both the ailing men are receiving medication for their conditions, officials said.
After a collapse blocked the exit of the gold and copper mine a month ago, the miners survived for 17 days on carefully rationed cans of tuna.
They were discovered alive after they sent a note up a bore hole, proclaiming their survival from an emergency shelter deep below ground.
Watch a video of the miners
