How can people be so naive as to think those 6 miners are still alive?

They are DEAD. They have been DEAD since day one.


I am so sick of people on TV saying "Weve got to get them out so they can get home to their families".


They arent coming home. They are DEAD.


Remember the Sago mine - those guys didnt last 3 days. Its been over 11 with these guys.


No food, no water, and most important a lack fo clean air will kill you.


The media and owners of the mine need to stop giving the family members false hope. Stop calling it a rescue and call it what it is, a recovery effort. Recovering the bodies.

How can people be so naive as to think those 6 miners are still alive?
There is a chance that they are still alivel


And if not, I'm sure their families would like their bodies to bury properly.
Reply:There is always hope at least until the bodies are brought up at that point everyone has to be able to say we did our best to save them, it just wasn't good enough. The families will have hope until they see the bodies at that point they will pray that their love one didn't suffer. And the others are right if it was someone you love would you want to them to give up after the first few days? I think not there is always a chance right up until you see the dead body....
Reply:Don't be so cold. Their families still have high hopes with or without the media. If it happened to someone you cared about, Im sure you would still like to hope that they were still alive.
Reply:Of course no one can be certain that the men are alive. But neither can anyone be certain they are not. It is possible that they are. Until proven otherwise, I think the sensible thing to do is to try to reach them, except if it is too dangerous for the rescuers, as it indeed may be at this point.





If the air were not so good, or if they had been knocked out by flying coal or rocks, or for other reasons, the men could have fallen into a state of unconsciousness in which they would not be responsive, not be making noise, and yet be alive. In fact, such a state of unconsciousness, if it lowered their metabolism, could be a means of preserving them in an environment of lower oxygen and without food.





I tend to agree with you that the chances for their survival are extremely slim--but this has also been stated in the news.





It seems logical that they could not last more than about 60 days without food, on the outside. Past that, if they had still not been found, I would say it was quite safe to fill out the death certificates. There are exceptions, however, and people have found ways of clinging to life when others would have given up long before.





The next question is: what is the legal procedure for declaring someone dead in uncertain circumstances? What criteria is the decision based on?





Life is uncertain, handle with prayer!
Reply:Truthfully, I don't disagree with you. But as a retired military person, I also understand the mindset of, "You don't leave a comrade behind." It's what makes it possible to go back into battle (or into a mine), because you know that your buddies will try to get to you until all hope is gone.





A tragedy nonetheless.
Reply:Yes I know that the possibility that they are alive is slim, and getting slimmer the more that the days go on, but they do have some water, food, and the air has been found to be able to support life. There have been a case of miners being trapped for 28 days, and they were rescued alive, and there have been other cases where they have lasted for 14 days or so. If it was one of your family members of friends I'm sure that you wouldn't want to give up hope especially since some good signs like live able space, and enough air to support life. I personally think that they should drill more holes, and discontinue the underground rescue effort until it would be safe to do resume it. If they are able to drill a hole and possibly find the miners they could give them enough to survive until they are able to get a plan to rescue them or if they are able to find their bodies then they won't have to worry about rescuing them anymore.
Reply:Also there is plenty of water underground. Most of the machines use WATER to keep the dust down also msha laws state that there must be water in each section of the mine and the water must be adequate. Also there is ground water in a mine that seeps constantly into the mine thats why mines must have a good pump system to keep all the water out. There is also a thing (which you are very uninformed about called bleeder entries which used to vent dust and gases. There are many of these vents that all miners are trained to locate and to use to get a supply of air. Also all the water lines that the equipment uses have plenty of water in them. The miners are also trained to drain these lines and use them as vents and ways to get air into the place where they are stuck at. So before you know what goes on underground and ASSUME that they are dead go and work inside a mine. Learn how many ways they actually have to stay alive and when to give up hope.
Reply:There were 3 miners rescued that were trapped in a mine for 23 days. There is still a chance these great men are alive!!





If they were your loved ones, would you want them to stop looking if there was even a small chance they are alive??
Reply:You are so darn positive and stuff!!!!!
Reply:There actually have been cases where miners have been found alive after being trapped for 14 days. I do think the chances are slim and considering last night's accident in which three rescuers were killed, they really need to weigh the consequences of continuing with the rescue effort.





Having said that, though, it's important to remember that people directly involved in situations like this have a strong need to believe that the people are alive. It's very hard to accept death when there are so many unkowns. I really don't think the media or the mine owners are giving the families false hope. I think the family members are holding on to hope because they can't do anything else.





Just saw your update and I don't know the answer to that. But I think that day is coming soon.