Rescue workers race to save five men trapped in Chilean copper mine
Codelco, the state-run firm that operates the mine, says an earthquake caused the mine shaft where the missing men were working to collapse.
The National Seismological Center of the University of Chile recorded a 4.3 magnitude earthquake in the area around the mine on Thursday. The quake and subsequent collapse also left nine people injured, Codelco said.
Codelco CEO Rubén Alvarado said Friday that 'the first 48 hours are fundamental' to finding the men alive. He added that 20 meters (65 feet) of debris in the mine tunnel needed to be removed by rescue workers to reach where they believe the men are trapped. As of Friday, only four meters had been cleared.
El Teniente, in central Chile's O'Higgins region, is the largest copper deposit in the world, according to data from the company. The incident has forced a halt in operations as rescue workers dig through debris to free the trapped men.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric said in a Friday statement on X that his government would do 'everything in (its) power' to find the missing miners. 'I have instructed the Minister of Mining, Aurora Williams, to be in the area to coordinate all necessary actions on the ground,' he wrote.
At a press conference on Saturday, Boric extended his condolences to the family of Paulo Marín Tapia, who died in the collapse, and said he is in contact with the loved ones of the five trapped workers.
As the hours pass, the anguish of the families and their fellow miners has increased.
'Hope dies last,' said Edgar Rodrigo Quesada, a miner and former union leader. He explained to CNN that while there is a shelter within the tunnel in case of a collapse, it isn't close to where they believe the miners were. It's uncertain if they made it in time.
'I just pray to God that my coworkers are okay,' Quesada said. 'What I can tell you, honestly, is that the shelter is very far from where the collapse happened.'
The Chilean prosecutor's office has already launched an investigation into the collapse. Codelco reported that it is also investigating the cause of the collapse.
The general manager of the El Teniente mine, Andrés Music, said that the accident was not caused by the use of explosives. 'We are making every effort to rescue these workers,' Music stressed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
The ‘kingmaker': Trump relishes his diplomacy as he jockeys for Nobel Prize
President Donald Trump campaigned on an 'America First' policy that rejected the United States' traditional role of global policeman. His first 200 days in office have said otherwise. Trump is relishing his role as peacemaker in chief, according to a White House official granted anonymity to speak candidly about the president, believing he can make deals that have eluded his predecessors, showing simultaneously his acumen and his power – whether he's successful or not. 'He loves being in the position to be a kingmaker for all of these smaller, weaker countries around the world,' the person said. Trump reminds audiences regularly of the wars he believes he has stopped, emphasizing how long the conflicts have raged. Last week, Trump brought the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the White House to secure a peace agreement between the long-hostile countries, the sixth such deal of his second term, although his exact role in at least one case is in dispute. 'I've solved six wars in the last six months, a little more than six months now, and I'm very proud of it,' Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office. But on Friday, Trump will face perhaps his toughest test as he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to secure an end to his war in Ukraine. Trump, who has labeled himself the 'president of peace,' has turned his attention to these conflicts in part because of a belief that he can use U.S. clout to end conflicts, according to a second White House official granted anonymity to discuss internal thinking. It's a contrast to his 2024 campaign, during which he adopted an 'America First' approach, emphasizing domestic affairs over foreign conflict. 'There's only so much that you know on the campaign trail and then when you get into the West Wing, you understand what the hell is actually happening in the world,' the second official said, referring to intelligence briefings Trump received as president. 'And in many ways, had [Trump] known this, I think it probably would have been a larger foundation of his campaign.' Trump's turn of attention to settling conflicts also stems in part from his desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize, which he has long sought. Trump, in his pursuit, went so far as to cold-callthe Norwegian finance minister last month to ask about the prize. The prize has also become a go-to for foreign leaders looking to curry favor with the president. At least six world leaders involved in recent agreements have nominated Trump or endorsed his nomination, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. Manet nominated Trump after the president brought Cambodia and neighboring Thailand to the table by threatening to halt trade negotiations unless they ended a border dispute. In addition to Cambodia and Thailand, White House officials say Trump has played a role in ceasefire pacts or other agreements between: Iran and Israel, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the U.S. and the Houthis in Yemen. Trump has had less success ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. And White House officials have provided few details of Trump's strategic involvement. People close to Trump say the quick succession of peace deals between warring countries is aligned with his campaign vision of putting America First, in part, because the president is tying peace agreements with trade agreements as he recently did with Armenia and Azerbaijan. 'With every one of these peace agreements, there has been some economic benefit to America,' the first White House official noted. Critics question Trump's sincerity in securing peace and the permanence of such agreements. John Bolton, who was Trump's national security adviser during the president's first term, pointed in particular to the Cambodia and Thailand agreement – where there has already been violence post ceasefire, according to media reports. "He got them to sign a ceasefire to make sure they could get their trade deals done,' Bolton said. 'Maybe the ceasefire will last more than a few days. Who knows? The underlying causes of the tension, the border issues have not been resolved. " "This is a Donald Trump first policy,' Bolton said. 'He wants the Nobel Peace Prize. I think everybody acknowledges now that's what's motivating him." Trump's interest in landing international agreements is not a complete policy departure from the president's first term. At that time, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements that stabilized diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries. Trump also played a role in the reestablishment of economic ties between Serbia and Kosovo. While campaigning for his second term, Trump emphasized reduced engagement in international organizations and pushed a more transactional and nationalistic approach – something he and his team called 'America First' policy, rejecting the full label of isolationist. On Friday, Trump will bring that policy into a one-on-one meeting with Putin. In the days leading to the summit, the president and his senior aides have downplayed expectations, with the president even calling it a 'feel-out meeting.' Of the conflicts raging around the world when Trump took office, he thought Russia and Ukraine would be 'the easiest one' to resolve. On Thursday he acknowledged, 'it's actually the most difficult.'
Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
Air Force tightens rules on transgender airmen; supporters say it prioritizes readiness: report
The U.S. Air Force has issued updated guidance that centralizes and standardizes separation boards for service members who no longer meet military requirements, including those affected by transgender policy changes. The Associated Press first reported the change, citing an internal memo dated Aug. 12, 2025. According to the memo, once a board confirms a member meets the policy's criteria, "the board must recommend separation."Hearings are closed and will not be recorded. Instead, the case file includes an abbreviated transcript prepared after the hearing. The policy narrows the board's role to a single factual SECRETARY PUSHES REVIEW BOARD TO PURGE DEI FROM NAVAL ACADEMY AND RESTORE 'WARRIOR ETHOS' Supporters of stricter readiness standards argue the change avoids drawn-out cases and clarifies discipline. The AP notes that, in the past, boards sometimes retained members despite serious infractions, discretion critics said led to Secretary Pete Hegseth has made "restoring the warrior ethos" and tougher physical standards central to his tenure. In his Jan. 25 message to the force, he vowed to "restore the warrior ethos … rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence," then directed a rapid, department-wide review of fitness, body composition and grooming standards.'RED TAPE': TRUMP ADMIN UNLEASHES DOGE-ALIGNED PROCESS TO FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FOR MISCONDUCT In July, he tightened medical waiver rules for new recruits, writing that America's warfighters must be physically and mentally capable of performing in the harshest conditions. The memo says the rules apply across the Department of the Air Force, including the Space Force, under a single Consolidated Disposition Authority to ensure uniform process and oversight. The AP also reported last week that the Air Force moved to end early retirement benefits for those who do not meet service requirements.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
US Will Not Be Purchasing Any Bitcoin, Treasury Secretary Bessent Says
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoiled the dreams of Bitcoiners worldwide Thursday, stating outright that the federal government will not be purchasing additional Bitcoin to supplement its existing supply of the cryptocurrency. 'We're not going to be buying that,' Bessent said during a Thursday morning appearance on Fox Business. The Treasury Secretary did endorse the notion of a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve, which President Donald Trump established via a March executive order. But Bessent said such a reserve, which currently consists of Bitcoin seized by U.S. law enforcement,will only be grown in the future by similar seizures. 'We are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up,' Bessent said of the Bitcoin reserve. 'We're going to stop selling that.' The Treasury Secretary added he estimates the U.S. government's current Bitcoin holdings to equal between $15 billion to $20 billion in value at current prices. Bessent's comments mark a departure from previous statements by White House officials on the subject. For months, Trump officials have floated the possibility of the federal government purchasing additional Bitcoin. The prospect has thrilled many Bitcoin holders, both due to the legitimacy such acquisitions could grant the cryptocurrency, and the potential deflationary impact massive state-level purchases of the token could have on its price. In March, shortly after Trump established a federal strategic Bitcoin reserve, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks told Decrypt that Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would have the final say on determining whether to purchase additional Bitcoin via 'budget-neutral' methods, such as selling off other government reserve assets including gold. Ethereum ETF Inflows Outperform Bitcoin for the Third Day Straight For months, White House officials have since repeated the line that they want to 'acquire as much Bitcoin as possible.' But plans for such acquisitions never materialized in the months since the Bitcoin reserve's announcement. Late last month, the White House released a sprawling, 168-page report on crypto policy recommendations. Though it was supposed to include further information about the Trump administration's crypto reserve plans, it notably omitted any details on the subject. One of the most consistently vocal White House officials on the subject of purchasing Bitcoin was Bo Hines, executive director of the President's Working Group on Digital Assets. Since March Hines has repeatedly said, in private and in public, that the Trump administration wanted to acquire as much Bitcoin as it possibly could.'I've said that at every conference I've spoken at in the last two to three months,' Hines said during testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in June. Earlier this week, Hines announced he had left his White House role, effective immediately. UPDATE (August 14, 2025, 11:03 a.m. ET): Adds paragraphs about Hines. Sign in to access your portfolio
