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Chile miners: engineers unveil 21ins wide rescue capsule
Telegraph: Fiona Govan Published: 4:22PM BST 14 Sep 2010
After enduring what is expected to be between three and four months trapped within the San Jose mine the men will have to climb into a narrow cylindrical pod for the ascent - a journey that will take at least an hour.
A technical team from the Chile's Navy will start constructing the bullet-shaped chamber so it is ready when one of three drilling efforts finally bores through the solid rock to create a shaft wide enough to raise the men, who have been trapped since the mine collapsed on August 5.
The steel rescue cage will have an external diameter of just 54 cms (21 inches) and a reinforced roof to protect its passenger against any rocks or debris that may be dislodged during the journey to the surface.
This week the miners started an exercise regime to ensure they are kept slim enough to fit into the capsule.
The men, who will be raised one by one in an operation expected to last several days, will be strapped into the chamber in a harness that will keep them in a secure standing position even if they faint.
A guidance system using wheels to guide it up the shaft should help minimise friction and video link will allow rescuers to communicate with the miner throughout the ascent.
The 2.5m (8ft 2in) long capsule will also be provided with an oxygen supply and a special lighting system and will include an escape hatch and a safety device that the passenger can use to lower himself back to the starting point should it get stuck along the way up.
The device was designed by a naval technical team at the Maestranzas shipyard on the specific orders of Chile's president Sebastian Piñera.
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