Trapped Chilean miners talked of cannibalism, suicide

LONDON - The trapped 33 Chilean miners’ have now revealed that their mental faculties were stretched to the limit, and have admitted that there were thoughts of death and cannibalism.

They also had doubts over whether they would ever see daylight or their loved ones again, even as they lived out one of the most astonishing stories of human endurance ever.

The miners were trapped for 69 days last year in cramped and uncomfortably hot conditions.

According to the Daily Mail, both suicide and even cannibalism were considered as the men struggled to contend with the idea that they may never be freed.

The men said that they rationed the inadequate emergency food supply, down to one can of tuna and eating just one teaspoon each every 48 hours.

In an upcoming book by Jonathan Franklin entitled ‘los 33′ (’33 Men’), he recalls one of the survivors joking tone when he suggested that if he died in his sleep, he would be ‘breakfast, lunch and dinner.’

It was no joke, there was no more food. But how long before cannibalism became a very realistic option?

Many of the miners are now on heavy medication.

One of the miners, Victor Zamora, aged just 31, said after his rescue: ‘I said to a friend, “Well, if we are going to continue suffering, it would be better for us to all go to the refuge, start an engine and with the carbon monoxide, just let ourselves go.”

One of the survivors, Edison Pena, has since run the New York Marathon to prove just how much he wanted to live

Others are struggling to rebuild the relationships they once had with friends and family members. One man is constructing a wall around his home.

All this is a stark contrast to the stories of special appearances at functions across the globe. Some have coped better than others.

A large contingent have been guests of honour at both Manchester United and Real Madrid matches. One appeared at the National Television Awards. (ANI)