Chilean miners’ families to sue government

Santiago, Oct 1 (IANS/EFE) The families of 27 of the 33 miners trapped inside a mine in Chile since Aug 5 plan to sue the mine’s owners and the Chilean government.

“The amount ought to reach, as has happened in others countries, at least a million dollars per worker, that is: a total of $27 million, though it could be more,” the mayor of the town of Caldera, Brunilda Gonzalez, told Radio Cooperativa.

Besides the San Esteban firm that owns the mine, the suit targets officials who failed to enforce safety regulations and the Chilean state, she said.

“The courts will determine how to divide it, who pays and who is made responsible,” Gonzalez said.

Rescuers now say they may reach the miners, who are still trapped 700 meters underground, by late October.

Authorities released Wednesday a new video in which the miners are seen clearing away rubble generated by one of the three giant drills boring toward the chamber where the 33 men are holed up.

Working in three shifts, the trapped miners are removing roughly eight tonnes a day of debris, rescue supervisor Andre Sougarret told Radio Cooperativa.

–IANS/EFE