【英语国际】智利矿工营救工作准备就绪

Engineers worked to reinforce part of the nearly half-mile-long shaft through which they will try to pull out 33 trapped miners, as the government fine-tuned an ambitious rescue operation set to begin Wednesday.

The government said work to install steel casing in the top 315 feet of the shaft began Sunday morning and would likely be finished early Monday. Engineers will then prepare the platform above the shaft from which they will lower a specially designed rescue capsule into the mine.

'We are going to run all the tests that are necessary until we're comfortable that the system functions,' said Mining Minister Laurence Golborne.

The San Jose miners, trapped in a cave-in Aug. 5, have endured far longer than survivors of any previous mine accident. Their drama has been moving toward a conclusion since Saturday morning, when a powerful rescue drill broke through to an underground chamber where they have taken refuge some 2,050 feet underground.

Rescuers plan to bring the miners out, one at a time, in a capsule known as the Phoenix that is outfitted with its own oxygen supply and communications system. Before any of the men are pulled out, however, a mining specialist and a navy paramedic will be lowered into the hole to check on the functioning of the capsule and the health of the 33 men.

The capsule can be separated into two parts, allowing a miner to lower himself back down if the nose gets stuck. Once above ground, the miners will be given special sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sudden exposure to light after weeks in the darkness below ground. The miners will be checked by doctors at a field hospital, visited briefly by family members and whisked off in a helicopter to a hospital in the nearby town of Copiapo. The government hopes to have all 33 men above ground in two days.

智利政府对庞大的矿工营救行动进行了调整，预计周三正式启动，工程人员正加固约半英里长的救援竖井，以营救33名被困矿工。

Francesco Degasperi/AFP/Getty Images智利矿难救生通道打通智利政府说，周日就开始了对救援竖井上半部315英尺的加固钢管的工作，可能在周一早间完成。接着工程人员就可以准备竖井上方的平台，从这里将特制的救援升井舱下放至矿井进行营救。

智利矿业部长戈尔沃内（Laurence Golborne）说，我们将进行所有必要的试验，直到我们确认这一系统运行没有问题。

圣何塞的这些矿工8月5日被困在井下，井下存活时间远远长于之前任何矿难的幸存者。他们的苦难从上周六早晨开始一步步走向结束，一台重型救援钻孔机将救援通道打通至被困矿工所在的地下约2050英尺处。

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images工程人员正加固约半英里长的救援竖井，以营救33名被困矿工。图为一名警察正在看守现场。救援队将通过一个名为“凤凰”的配备独立氧气供应和通讯系统的救生舱，将被困矿工一一救出。但是在被困矿工救出之前，将有一位开矿专家和海军护理人员下放到被困位置，检查救生舱的运行情况和33位矿工的健康状况。

救生舱分为两部分，如果前端卡住，矿工可下降返回原地。到达地面时，矿工们将立即戴上特制太阳镜，保护眼睛免受亮光的突然照射，因为他们在黑暗的地下待了数周时间。矿工们将接受野战医院医生的检查，亲人可短暂探视，然后立即由直升机送往附近的科皮亚波镇（Copiapo）的医院。政府希望在两天内将33名被困矿工全部救出地面。