From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
2010 Copiapo mining accident
was a
mining
accident
that happened on August 5, 2010, when the
copper
-
gold
mine
of San Jose, near
Copiapo
,
Chile
, collapsed. It left 33 miners trapped around 700 meters under the ground.
[1]
[2]
The Mine of San Jose (Mina San Jose) is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Copiapo, in the
Region of Atacama
. The miners were trapped at about 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep and about 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the entrance of the mine. The mine has had accidents in the past, including one death.
[3]
A report from the Chilean Government from July 2010, said that the owners of the mine did not "reinforce the roof." The lack of reinforcement "led to an earlier collapse of the roof".
[4]
There has been controversy over why the mine was not closed down earlier.
Some people, including lawyers representing the mining company, think that the owners of the mine will declare bankruptcy after the miners are rescued.
[3]
On October 13, 2010, Florencio Avalos reached the surface. He was the first miner to be rescued.
[5]
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