CHILE - Piñera: We've done all to rescue Chile's miners

SAN JOSE MINE, Chile (AP):

Chile's president said yesterday that his government has done everything within its power to rescue 33 miners trapped underground for 47 days and counting, but would not venture a guess as to when they'll be pulled out.

Sebastian Piñera spoke as a huge oil industry drill began carving a third escape tunnel that could potentially provide the first way to extricate the men through a half-mile of solid rock.

"Today, for the first time, we have three machines working simultaneously. We don't know when they will reach them. But we know one thing; with the help of God, they will reach them," Piñera declared after touring the drilling operation and meeting with the miners' families.

"I can assure you we have done everything possible. We have done our best," he said.

The latest drill, a mammoth 150-foot-tall (45-metre) structure, can pound through 60 to 90 feet (18 to 27 metres) of rock a day. And while the other machines must first bore narrower holes and gradually expand their diameter, the Rig 24 can carve a 28-inch-wide shaft, just wide enough to pull a man through, in a single pass.

Its tremendous power increases the risk of causing underground collapses, however, so engineers are aiming it at a point in the mine below where the men are holed up.

'Plan C'

Once this 'Plan C' machine reaches the miners, the rescuers will fortify the walls of the tunnel with iron tubing, 23.5 inches in diameter, in 72-foot (24-metre) sections to prevent it from collapsing around the miners as they are pulled to the surface. Casing the tunnel alone will take eight days, rescue coordinator Andre Sougarret explained.