Trapped Chillean miners may be rescued by Saturday

LONDON - The drill, which is boring a tunnel to the 33 Chillean miners, is expected to reach them by Saturday.

According to Sky News, the Schramm T-130 has made significant progress through the bedrock to the underground, where the miners have been trapped from the past 64 days.

Engineers are now determining whether they need to line the tunnel with metal to make it smoother for the capsule, which will bring the men to the surface.

Earlier, Eugenio Eguiguren, executive vice president at the drilling company Geotec Boyles Bros., claimed that after the crew is done with the drilling process, a video camera would be lowered down to inspect the walls of the hole to determine whether casing is necessary. In case the casing is not required, the process of lifting up the miners would begin in two days. eanwhile, the mining minister, Laurence Golborne, has said that if the casing was not required, the rescue operation could take two-four days to complete, but if it needs to be done, the process might even take eight-ten days.

The miners have reportedly been supplied with chewing gum to give them more energy during the rescue operation. They would also be provided with sunglasses to protect their retinas from being exposed to sunlight and ultra-violet rays. (ANI)