Amazing Chilean mine rescue played out on TV

 

We stayed up until 2 am last night to watch the first two miners rescued from 2,000 feet underground.

The whole world is watching the rescue on TV, their cell phones, and on the internet.

The new president of Chile Sebastián Piñera appears to be an genuine human and not the typical posturing politician. He is swept up in the emotion of the moments like all of us.

The CNN live link is here.

The television coverage is first class as it should be. The telegenic President of Chile owns the network. He is also a billionaire and one of Chile’s richest men.

As I write this post, the 12th miner has reached the desert plateau, saved from the depths of hell in the mine.

He hugs his family, fellow workers, the President of Chile and other officials and dignitaries at the mine rescue site. 

Bolivian President Evo Morales is now at the site to wait for the rescue of the remaining 21 almost doomed miners.

Larry King said at 1 AM it was an historic moment, when television captured the dramatic rescue moment by moment. Larry King said it was never shown before on television and I think he is right.

The drama of the rescue, the courage and team work are compelling images.

The son of Florencio Avalos, the first miner, cried with joy and emotion when his dad stepped back on the ground.

Mario Sepulveda, the second miner, thanked everyone, brought gifts from below, shaking hands with the dignitaries and workers outside a fence. He led a big cheer from the crowd.

President Piñera and his wife Cecilia More are more than telegenic. They seem genuinely concerned and involved in the rescue. While Sepulveda was coming up the shaft, you could see Cecilia More comforting the miner’s wife, even warming her hand in her own in the cold desert night.

There were tears in the President’s eyes after he hugged Mario Sepulveda.

Except for the talking heads on the network, the story is all about the miners, their endurance and the heroic team effort to bring them back to the surface alive. The television is riveting as it should be when the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera , is the owner of the Chilean television network Chilevisión.

The production values of the live broadcast are world class. There are close ups, medium shots, long shots. We have video of the miners in their safety zone 2,000 feet down. We see the rescue capsule start to move back up and the giant wheel up above start to turn.

The poor international media reporters are being held back three or four football fields from the action. There are lots of patriotic messages with colors of the rescue capsule and flags in the right locations.

As I finish editing this story, the 13th miner has started his way back to the surface. God speed them all.

By Stephen Pate, NJN Network