Probe reaches trapped miners

By The Newsroom

Published 17th Sep 2010, 16:32 BST

Updated 18th Sep 2010, 00:55 BST

A BORE hole designed to be used as an eventual rescue route has reached 33 trapped miners, the Chilean government announced yesterday.

Atacama region Governor Ximena Matas said that the probe has reached the cavern where the miners have been trapped since 5 August. Officials plan now to widen the hole so that the miners can be pulled through it. However, that effort is likely to take more than six weeks.