Chilean Mine Rescue

It’s the third anniversary of the Chilean mine rescue, so a timely opportunity to revisit the ‘rescue of the century’, an absorbing tale of triumph over impossible odds, with 33 fast-starving miners trapped half a mile under rock, their chances of survival rated at two percent by one expert.

With such genuinely astonishing material, this recap of the story really doesn’t have to work hard to still deliver an absorbing tale that, with two potential rescue plans, is one to rival the best that Hollywood could come up with, with amazing tension, twists and turns and many unexpected plot developments.

As the stoical, charismatic and resilient miners give first-hand accounts of their ordeal, detailing moments of despair, hopelessness and starvation, you can’t help but be totally awed by the levels of human endurance and endeavour; if the scene in which the surface team discover the 33 are alive doesn’t choke you up, you’re a stronger cynic than me. And that’s only half the story…