A Miraculous Rescue, A Postcard, & Other Stuff ...

It has been a very exciting morning ....

I don't know how much coverage there has been outside Australia, but 2 weeks ago, on the evening of the 25th April, there was an earthquake in the area of Beaconsfield in Tasmania. This caused a collapse in a gold mine, which trapped 3 people ... all the others managed to escape. One man was sadly found dead, crushed by falling rock. The other two, 5 days after the collapse, were found alive ... but unable to be reached safely. Thus began a huge effort by many, many people to rescue these two brave miners. They were fortunate that they were not crushed like their workmate, as they were in a metal cage, which was part of the mine machinery. This cage, approximately 1.2 x 2metres in size, protected them from the rock falling all around them. Various options for their rescue were discussed, with the safest one being the one that was used. They needed to drill a tunnel underneath where the trapped miners were, then dig upwards to rescue them (this is a simplified explanation) ... this proved to be more difficult than they thought it would be, as some of the rock was very much harder than they expected. In the end, they got through, and at a few minutes before 5am this morning (9th May 2006) they emerged from their nightmare home for the past 2 weeks. An hour of so later, after being examined by paramedics, and getting cleaned up, they arrived back on terra-firma to cheers and jubilation.

It was amazing to see the whole thing evolve ... the emotions that were going through the people waiting at the mine entrance for the men to arrive back up top were incredible. Once they came out of that mine shaft elevator, I don't imagine there was a dry eye around the place. I know I was crying, and I was only watching it on TV.

I'll share with you a news report I found on the internet ...

Sydney - Two Australian miners were freed Tuesday, sparking joyful celebrations as they emerged ebullient and in good health after being trapped a kilometre underground for two weeks.
The two men, who lost a co-worker in the rockfall and had been given up for dead, waved to well-wishers as they passed an honour guard of colleagues after more than 300 hours in a tiny cavern at the Beaconsfield mine in Tasmania.
Todd Russell, 34, and Brant Webb, 37, came out of the mine with their arms held high in triumph and their miners' lamps blazing, to be whisked off for a medical check they were expected to pass with ease.
Webb insisted on the doors of his ambulance being open as he was driven through Beaconsfield. 'You can't kill me, son,' he was heard shouting to a wellwisher.
'They are in very good physical shape and we believe they will only be here a minimal amount of time,' Launceston Hospital chief executive Stephen Ayre said.
The miners defied doctors' predictions that their muscles would be too wasted to walk after their time trapped in a 2-metre metal cage.
They were expected to be strong enough to attend the funeral of a colleague, 44-year-old Larry Knight, who was killed in the April 25 rockfall.
'It's a real emotional time and a time of mixed emotions for us and this community,' Beaconsfield mayor Barry Easther told national broadcaster ABC.
'We've got Larry's funeral later today and it's a sad day, and yet it's such an exciting time to have these two lads brought back to the surface. It's just a dream come true.'
Overnight, rescuers came within a metre of the pair after taking a barely credible 40 hours to crack through a 1.5-metre seam of quartz sandstone five times harder than concrete.
For fear of triggering another catastrophic rockfall, rescuers drilled a fresh tunnel from the main shaft rather than trying to get to the men through the rockfall that trapped them and crushed the life out of Knight.
To open up the last bit of the 16-metre tunnel, which emerged just below the miners, rescuers used hand tools to break through the crust and carve out a metre-wide escape hatch.
The two men dropped into the rescue tunnel and were dragged to the main shaft. They met their wives and showered before making their grand exit at the pithead.
Doctors had wanted the two men to be taken straight to hospital but Russell and Webb would have none of it.
'They are very keen to walk out, and we are very keen to help them achieve that,' said paramedic Wolfgang Rechberger.
When they were found five days after the rockfall, a small- diameter hole was drilled to their tiny chamber. Food, drinks, blankets, clothes, toothpaste, deodorant and even music players, keepsakes and letters from family were passed through to them.
They managed to sleep, eat hot meals, and guide colleagues burrowing towards them. The local heroes even helped in their own rescue by gluing up seams in the rock near their cage to guard against a further landslip when rescuers finally punched through.
Mine manager Matthew Gill, who led the rescue and bore complaints that it was taking far too long, became the hero of the hour.
'My knees are shaking and I haven't quite worked out where I am at the moment,' Gill said. 'The odds finally worked in favour of the rescuers in the dying hours of the rescue effort.'
Gill said he was amazed at their physical condition. 'They are absolutely incredible people,' he told reporters at the pithead. 'In fact we were a bit worried with the amount they were eating that we would have to make the hole a bit bigger.'
The two miners' resilience and cheeky humour had been an inspiration to the hundreds helping in the rescue and garnered international attention.
One of the first things Russell asked for was the previous week's local newspaper so he could look for a new job. The pair joked that they were in a two-star hotel and that they were the two stars.
When Webb's ambulance pulled out of the mine compound, he flung his boots out the doors.
In what was perhaps their most emotional moment, the two men returned their safety tags to their personal pegs on the in-out board at the pithead. They were finally home.

Recent reports on the TV news state that one of the men has been released from hospital, with the other one staying on briefly for a few more tests. What incredibly brave, strong men ... what an amazing story.

Ok, on to other stuff ...

I received another postcard yesterday. This one is from Chloe, and she sent it from Makrinitsa, where she recently spent her Easter. It is a beautiful card, showing 6 wonderful scenes from what looks like an amazing place. Thank you, Chloe, I love your card.

Well, I survived my first night without my Chicky. It felt very strange in the house last night, without her, and the cat seemed a bit confused. We won't be having any contact with the kids until they return on Friday, so I am guessing that she is having a wonderful time. I really don't want to hear from the teachers, anyway, as this could only be bad news, an accident, or something.

I had a phone call from a friend earlier, who has asked if I can work for him tomorrow and a half day next week. This sounds good, so I said yes. No sleep in for me tomorrow, after all. Oh well !! I will be working at a Boarding Cattery, the same place where I take my kitty when we go away, and the same place (although at a different location) that I worked at part time a few years ago. Should be fun, lots of kittys to cuddle, and feed, and clean up after. It is mainly office work for the day, as there is another girl working there doing the cleaning.

Anyway, enough from me for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday.

Take care,

MEOW