Categories: uncategorized
Date: 10 May 2006 11:41:02
What fantastic news that the two Tasmanian miners, trapped 1km underground for 14days, were rescued. A very emotional good-news story but balanced with sadness by the death of the third miner
I have experienced underground darkness when I studied mine surveying at uni, when I was a scout leader taking a group of young men caving and during my national service as a sapper in the army engineers getting trained to search tunnels. Each time I remember being pretty much terrified.
I once heard a child describe night as “it gets in your eyes and you can't see” but the darkness underground is not like night-time it's just total black that sucks the light out of everything... and just about takes your breath with it.
I can't imagine what it would've felt like trapped under a rockfall in that mine 1km from daylight.
God bless the miners, their families and all those involved in the rescue, the faithful who prayed and the minister in the Uniting Church, next door to the mine who was such support to everyone in that small community of Beaconsfield and who when the two miners came out, rang the church bell for the first time since the end of World War 2.