A 'heartening' video message from Chile's trapped miners
Footage of the 33 men stranded in a collapsed gold mine shows that there's room for fun, even in their cramped and dire situation

The video: In a newly released video (watch below), the 33 Chilean miners trapped for the past three weeks nearly half a mile underground appear to be in good spirits. Shot on a miniature camera lowered through the borehole connecting the men to the surface, the 45-minute video shows the miners singing, praising their colleagues and even playing dominoes. "We have organized everything very well down here," says the cameraman. Officials estimate that the men will remain trapped in the mine for at least four months.
The reaction: This "heartening" video shows the true "strength of the human spirit," says Debbie Turner in Only Kent. It will certainly offer "hope and consolation to the men’s families." The miners are doing admirably, despite their "horrible" situation, says Dan Amira in New York magazine. All in all, their situation seems kind of "like taking a four-month-long vacation with your bros. Underground. In the dark. In a mine." Watch a short clip of the video below:
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