5 mutinous trapped Chillean miners threatened to plot ‘their own escape’

LONDON - The 33 Chillean miners appear to have lost patience and unity among themselves after being trapped for almost two months underground, with reports claiming that a mutiny broke out when a group decided to find their own way out.

With just about two days to go for their rescue, possibly Wednesday, news of such an incident taking place about 2,073 feet underground has questioned the reported unity, which the Chilean authorities had been claiming all this while.

According to the Daily Mail, five miners, who had been subcontracted to work at the mine and do not have close relations with the others, had ‘broken away’ from the main group. These men reportedly chose to live in a separate part of the mine even after the workers had made contact with the surface, refusing to follow the chain of command.

It is claimed that they had also refused to appear in the first video footage of the men. The mutiny is believed to have occurred as recently as a few weeks ago at a time when the miners were being praised for their unity.

While the other miners were awaiting decisions from the surface over rescue plans, the group of five decided to defy the chosen leader and find their own way out. However, the government officials intervened and ordered them to follow the rest of the group.

A ‘pact of silence’ is said to have been agreed among the men to keep the uglier side of their story out of public attention, the paper said.

The 33 have been trapped 2,073 feet down since August 5 after a collapse at the San Jose gold and copper mine in northern Chile’s Atacama desert.

A single ringing bell and a roar of delight from exhausted rescue workers signalled the moment on Saturday, when a 2,067 feet shaft broke through to the miners. The first reaction of the miners after seeing the rescuers’ was ‘what took you so long’. (ANI)