Depression fears mar 'miracle' as Chileans rally around

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Trapped miners: depression fears mar 'miracle' as Chileans rally around

The people of Chile offer overwhelming support to the families of the 33 men amid concern the miners' spirits are flagging

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* Jonathan Franklin at the San José mine, Chile
* The Observer, Sunday 29 August 2010
* Article history

Chilean miners An image made from a video released by Television Nacional de Chile through the Chilean government shows the trapped miners in their underground chamber. Photograph: AP

It was a week of celebrations that could not last. Last week the world rejoiced at the miraculous contact made with 33 trapped Chilean miners who were found alive 700m underground. But now officials are struggling to keep the men from sinking into a spiral of depression.

A video of the bearded and nearly naked men showed that, despite three weeks underground, the group is unified, organised and motivated to contend with the bizarre conditions of their daily existence. Not shown on the screen, however, were telltale signs that at least five of the men are succumbing to the stress of their new reality. "They are more isolated, they don't want to be on the screen, they are not eating well. I would say depression is the correct word," said Chilean health minister Jaime Mañalich as he referred to the five miners.

Mañalich also admitted yesterday that doctors had detected "severe dermatological problems" among the men. Authorities may have released only part of a 45-minute video the miners made last week because the men show skin problems on the rest of the tape.

Medicines are being sent to the miners through one of three tiny boreholes which are their only contact with the outside world.

"Following the euphoria of being discovered, the normal psychological reaction would be for the men to collapse in a combination of fatigue and stress," explained Dr Rodrigo Figueroa, head of the trauma, stress and disaster unit at the Catholic university in Santiago, Chile.

"People who are trained for emergencies – like these miners – tend to minimise their own needs or to ignore them. When it is time to ask for help, they don't," said Figueroa, a psychiatrist who was brought to the mine by the government in an effort to help analyse the miners' mental health. The extraordinary predicament of the men trapped underground has touched the hearts of all Chileans, producing an unprecedented sense of national solidarity. Each passing chapter of the miners' saga has served to unite the nation.
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