Chile mine accident

The Chilean mining accident was the result of a race for profits by mine owners – who may face criminal charges – at a boom time in the price of two metals, combined with a scandalous disregard for safety, according to trade unionists.

Despite a legal requirement, there were no alternative exits from the San Jose copper and gold mine, which has left 33 miners imprisoned 700 metres underground since 5 August. Union efforts to permanently close San Jose and the neighbouring San Antonio mine have failed, despite a spate of fatalities.

The government ordered the closure of the San Jose mine after deaths in 2006 and 2007, but a year later a junior official, allegedly exceeding his powers, authorised its reopening without the owners having installed a stairway in the ventilation passages. This stairway would have saved the 33 men this month. Instead, employees were sacked and non-unionised labour taken on. On 3 July this year a man lost his leg in a rockfall, and later in the month the Labour Department warned of serious safety deficiencies.

Victor Jara: Canción del minero