Should they end the search for the 6 miners now & close that mine for good since 3 rescurers have died?

Question

I know none of us can understand what the relatives of those miners are going through or are feeling since we are not in their shoes. However, I wonder what the odds are that anyone is still alive down there after all this time? Each day I check to see what progress they have made, hoping that they have found them. I know one should never give up hoping but now with this latest tragedy, I'm starting to wonder about it all. If it was a relative of mine, I would not want to risk the lives of others just to retrieve the remains. But how can you tell if they are not alive for sure? I would say, close that stupid mine and let it be the memorial to all those who have died. I guess as long as there is a glimmer of hope and the rescurers are willing to put their own lives on the line to find out if they are alive, they should keep going.

My heart goes out to those that are waiting, those who have lost loved ones and I am thankful that I do not have to make these kinds of decisions

Quick Sand - great answer. I agree. Mother Nature is fighting back big time. I don't blame just the government or the oil companies. I blame mankind in general. How many people do you know that would be willing to be give up their current lifestyle to do without things to help save the earth? I try but I don't think I know 2 others that would. It's like the China issue - if we stop buying their crap it would solve the problem.

Answer 1

I just got done reading the article about the recent events. Very sad to lose 3 people, who were trying to save the missing 6.....LIke yourself, I check everyday also, and starting to wonder myself what you are. But If it was my loved one in there, "what if" they have heard the rescue efforts, and the 5 minute "noise" they heard was them?.....would I want my loved one to just hear nothing any longer and then slowly die.....But what if they are all dead already....risk some more lives? This is a very touchy decision that those involved will have to make. I don't know........
But I do think this just goes to show you, we're not suppose to be messing with The Earth....It wasn't created so we could bore holes in it to extract whatever........We could go "solar" in the energy area, but the Government/Oil people are money hungry slobs, why bother using the Sun, when we can keep taking what doesn't belong to us out of the Earth, no matter what it is........"The Mountain is alive".......no sh!t sherlock!! Those men are trapped in a hole, in a friggen mountain, 1200+feet into it, and we're surprised at a collapse???
Why should we be surprised, it goes against the Natural order of Nature to mess with the planet the way it's being done!!!
And Mother Earth is telling us so with every Natural Disaster!!

Answer 2

I don't think we should STOP searching altogether just yet, but I do believe we should find an alternative to sending in live rescuers if it can be helped. It is even more of a tragedy to believe that we've lost more people than we needed to originally- that sounds disrespectful to the trapped miners, but I know if I were stuck in a mine and alive, I would not be able to accept the fact that people died trying to save my life. Especially because there are no active signs of life that ensure the cause is still for active lives. I feel for each of the relatives of these trapped miners, but at what length are we willing to go to retrieve them? I don't want to close the mine, necessarily, but if we can use an electronic tools and perhaps robotic retrievals, I think that would be the best way. I just feel so awful that rescuers have died now!

Answer 3

I think they should stop searching. The original miners are dead by now. A person can survive 7 days without food and only 3 days with out water. It's been 11 days. I'm sorry to say but hope is lost. Anyway, if they were blocked in, a fresh air supply would run out quick. I just couldn't risk more people's lives just to get the bodies out. It's not worth it. The search should have ended on the 8th day and those 3 rescuers would still be alive. People think that the miners are still alive, I just don't see how they could be unless they took in a lot of water with them. A person needs a gallon of water a day to survive (whether the water comes thru food or not) My prayers go out to the families who have lost loved ones but it's time for them to accept their lost and plead that the search ends before more people get hurt.

Answer 4

It is a truly horrific situation and I can't imagine how I would feel if I had to be the one to decide. I think they should call off the rescue effort. That mountain is pissed off. Hopefully, there can be something they can learn from this tragedy. Like, where is the technology we should have in place to communicate with miners in cases like this. Don't tell me it doesn't exist. I guess though it will all boil down to money. Mining is an inately suicidal profession. It's all so very sad but you know this won't be the last time you hear a story like this one.

Answer 5

I disagree.

Even if the original 6 miners are found dead, bringing their bodies out would help bring closure to their families.

And going back in to the collapsed area can help answer questions about what happened. What actually caused the collapse? What can be done in other mines to prevent this sort of tragedy from reoccurring? Closing the mine and ignoring that just means that it can happen again and again and again, and these 6 would have died in vain.