Tense final hours ahead for Chilean miners
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"I think they're more excited than scared or nervous," Brandon Fisher, president of Center Rock Inc, the Pennsylvania company that made the hammer-style drill heads that created the opening for the rescue, told AP. "That first guy up might be a little nervous, though."
The final order will probably be determined by two paramedics, one from the Navy and one from the Codelco state mining company, who will be lowered into the mine to prepare the men for their journey in a rescue capsule built by Chilean naval engineers.
Over the past week, all the miners underwent tests to assess their health. Manalich said officials were concerned about acute hypertension in some of the miners as well as the opposite — sudden drops in blood pressure — in others because of the speed of the ascent to the surface.
Another concern is blood clotting. To counteract it, the miners began taking 100 milligrams each of aspirin on Sunday, he said. They will also put on compression socks and a special girdle and will be on a special high-calorie liquid prepared and donated by NASA for the final six hours before being removed, Manalich said.
The liquid-only diet is to prevent them from becoming nauseated. The rescue capsule is expected to rotate 350 degrees some 10 to 12 times through curves in the 28-inch-diameter escape hole on its way up, he added.
Officials biggest worry was panic attacks, the health minister said.
"They are very nervous. But on the other hand they're so busy with what's happening," he said. "There's no time to think or be distracted."
In large part, that's by design. The psychologists and engineers managing the miners' days have kept them busy. On Saturday, several blasted open a wider chamber at the base of the escape hole with 12 pounds of dynamite.
A small video camera in the escape capsule will be trained on each miner's face so it can be watched as he ascends. Each will also have a mask attached to an oxygen tank affixed to their face and two-way voice communication.
The miners will also wear sweaters because they'll experience a shift in climate from about 90 degrees Fahrenheit underground to temperatures hovering near freezing if they emerge at night. And those coming out during daylight hours will wear sunglasses.
After a quick on-site medical check, they will be helicoptered to a hospital 15 minutes away where they will be put under observation in a ward dark as a movie theater.
Officials began detailed monitoring Sunday of their health, sweating every detail of the ascent that is expected to last about 20 minutes for each man.
"Today we sent down special equipment to measure their heart rate, their respiration rate and skin temperature," Manalich said.
A video inspection Saturday showed the hole's walls firm and smooth, without any fissures or rupture of walls of the mine.
