Rescuers begin search for 34 trapped in Chilean mine, descent could take up to 8 hours

Rescuers work to free 34 trapped in Chilean mine

SANTIAGO, Chile — Three groups of rescuers are searching for 34 miners trapped since Thursday in a collapsed gold mine in northern Chile.

Mining Secretary Laurence Goldborne says it could take eight hours to reach the presumed location of the workers 1,000 feet (300 meters) underground.

Goldborne said Saturday that he doesn’t know how long they can survive. No one has been able to communicate with the miners since the tunnel caved in.

Goldborne returned from Ecuador to direct the rescue, while President Sebastian Pinera left the inauguration of Colombia’s new president, saying he needed to be with the miners’ families.

Rescuers worked with equipment brought in from France that can detect knocking or other movement by the miners.