Will the successful rescue of 33 trapped Chilean miners make a difference to safety standards in the mining industry?
They spent 69 days underground, but on Wednesday, 33 miners in Chile finally emerged.
Trapped 700 meters below the surface, the men had to cope with darkness, suffocating heat and humidity.
It was an extraordinary rescue operation which captivated the whole world and was called nothing short of a miracle.
But what about the thousands of other miners around the globe? Will this successful rescue effort make any difference to safety standards in one of the world’s most hazardous industries?
Inside Story, with presenter Laura Kyle, discusses with Christopher Bise, a professor and the chairman of the department of mining engineering at West Virginia University, Eugen Gaal, the spokesperson of the Society of Occupational Medicine, and Ramamurthi Sreedhar, a geologist and mining expert.
This episode of Inside Story aired from Thursday, October 14, 2010.