Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Rescuing Miners One by One; Miners Treated at Hospital; Three American Companies Play Critical Role in Rescue; Preview of Tonight's Debate in Delaware; Mental Health of Chilean Miners; 16 UP, 17 to Go
Aired October 13, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to pick it up and run with it from here. Hugs -- look at this -- kisses, cheers and tears as the unprecedented rescue of 33 miners unfolds before our eyes. One by one, hour after hour, miners step out of their rescue capsule and into the arms of loved ones at the San Jose mine in Chile.
Fourteen men have been pulled to safety so far. Nineteen miners are waiting to be hoisted up right now. People around the world are celebrating with the people of Chile.
Look at this, the excited crowds at Camp Hope. That's the makeshift village started by family members of the 33 miners, as well as crowds watching from -- let's see here -- New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.
In the 13 hours since this rescue began, we learned so much more about the miners. Claudio Yanez Lagos is 34. He is a carrier pigeon handler. He was and is -- he certainly was at the time.
His long-time girlfriend proposed through a letter during his isolation. Yanez was the eighth man out this morning. He gave the thumbs up, and as you can see here, once he was freed from his harness, he rushed over to his fiancee, knocking off her hard hat in their embrace.
Enjoy that for a second.
I'll jump back in here to tell you that the couple have two daughters and said they plan to marry after the rescue.
Mario Gomez Heredia is 63 years old, the oldest of the trapped miners, and the spiritual leader of the group. He was prepared to retire on the day of the cave-in.
Gomez suffers from a mine-related lung disease and has two fingers on one hand after a mining accident. Here's the moment he emerged. Take a look.
Gomez, of course, gave us the thumbs up, hugged his crying wife, while clutching the Chilean flag. And then, as you can see here, he dropped to his knees and spoke silently to God.
The miner people are talking about is 40-year-old Mario Sepulveda. Take a look at these pictures of Mario Sepulveda. Take this scene in for just a moment.
All right. And, without any further ado, let's get you to the scene right now. Our Karl Penhaul is there.
And Karl, if you would, take as much time as you need and bring us the sights, the sounds, the scenes of this amazing rescue as you have watched it unfold over the hours now.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think if you gave me as much time as I needed, Tony, we'd have to go back over the entire 12 hours that this rescue operation has lasted so far. There have been so many magical moments there, as I'm sure you'll agree, difficult to describe each one.
But here we are in Camp Hope. This is the camp where the families have camped out since that mine collapsed on August the 5th. And today, and over last night, and now their hopes being fulfilled as their sons, as husbands were finally pulled back to the surface.
It really didn't matter which miner was being pulled to the surface at any one moment. There have been 33 families that arrived here, but since they arrived here, they've grown into one big family with 33 sons.
And so, Florencia Avalos may have been the first guy out of the hole, but he was the first son of this big family. And that mood continued throughout the day.
We have had characters like Jimmy Sanchez, 19 years old, the youngest miner who was there underground. He never wanted to go underground, but it was the only way he could support his newborn daughter.
He was afraid of the dark. He was claustrophobic. And above all, he was afraid of the ghosts and the spirits of miners who had died in that mine before him. He is now out, back on the surface.
We had the oldest miner come out, Mario Gomez. The health minister was worried about his health, his lungs, because of the black lung that he suffers. But Mario, what we know from his wife, he's as tough as an old boot, and he proved that, because he came out and gave his wife Lila a huge, huge hug, and then he dropped down to one knee and said a prayer to God and to the Virgin Mary. He really was the man who was the spiritual leader of the miners, helped them work as a team and shared his experience.
And then, of course, other characters like Edison Pena, a vital part of that 33-man team, because it was teamwork that kept them alive. But he is also a mad-hat Elvis fan, and I couldn't help thinking as he was coming up in that rescue capsule what Elvis song was going through his mind at that time.
He can't speak much English, but according to his father, he can sing just about every Elvis Presley song in perfect English. In fact, in the shrine that his father had set up for him here at Camp Hope, it said, "Son, if you make it out of that mine alive, you'll be bigger than Elvis."
Well, I don't know if Edison or any other miners are bigger than Elvis today, but they're certainly rock stars in more ways than one, all eyes on them. But each of these miners has a story to tell. They have a family behind them.
But as I say, the most important thing, 33 families have become one. It's a big family with 33 sons, and today those 33 sons are coming home -- Tony.
HARRIS: How good is this story today? And how good is Karl Penhaul covering this story for us from Chile?
Karl, appreciate it. Thank you.
Sixty-nine days ago, these men were everyday fathers, husbands and sons. Today they emerge as heroes for Chile and the world.
CNN's Josh Levs is here to tell us who they are -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Tony. I'm going to give you a rundown of who has been rescued so far, but first let's just take a look at some of these amazing pictures that we're getting.
It's rare in that the world is staring at such happy pictures of reunions. Take a look at this. We're going to start off with this.
We've got all these high-res images for you at CNN.com.
This is Mario right here. We were talking about him, Mario Gomez, the 63-year-old, the oldest of the trapped miners, swearing now he will never go below again.
Look at one more that we've got right here, Claudio Yanez, the eighth miner to be rescued, as he's hugging his loved ones right there.
All right. Here's what we have for you. I want to show you everyone who has been rescued so far. I'm going to take you through this, folks. Here it is, the list of the 14 who so far have been rescued, and then we'll talk about some that are still down there.
Let's go in here. It starts with Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva. You know him. He became the cameraman during this isolation. He was taking all these videos down there.
Mario Sepulveda Espina, he had become the spokesman, video narrator for the miners.
This is Juan Illanes Palma. He's an electrical mechanic retired from the Chilean military.
Number four, Carlos Mamani Solis, only 23 years old and not even the youngest down there. He is the one who is from Bolivia, the only non-Chilean working down there. Jimmy Sanchez Lagues, only 19 years old. He is the youngest in the group. He was working as an environmental assistant. And we have been hearing about his correspondence with his family.
This one, Osman Isidro Araya Acuna, 30 years old. Another carrier pigeon handler.
Take a look at more of the people who have been rescued -- Jorge Ojeda Vidal, 46 years old, originally a master driller. Has been serving as secretary for the miners.
This is Claudio Llanes Lagos, the carrier pigeon handler we've been talking about, originally a drill operator at the mine.
I've got a couple more here. Oh -- we're going to some live pictures right now.
HARRIS: We've got live pictures now of the 15th miner.
LEVS: There you go. We've got it. Let's take it.
And this is Victor Segovia, who is coming up in just a -- there's the capsule.
And Josh, pull up his profile.
LEVS: Yes, that will take a second, but stay on these live pictures and I'll go over them. We'll add that one to it.
What we're doing throughout the day, every time someone is rescued, we are moving them upward into the section where we learn more about them there. And we also are you telling you along the way about everyone who has not yet been rescued. There are families out there that are still concerned, that are still keeping an eye out for their loved ones that are waiting.
And I'll tell you, Tony, every few minutes, at least throughout the morning, we have been getting some amazing new pictures like this, where you get to see that capsule working its way up. And we watch live as it becomes basically unveiled, and they can come out.
This is Victor Antonio Segovia Rojas.
HARRIS: Victor Segovia Rojas, yes.
LEVS: Right. This is Victor Antonio Segovia Rojas. He has been named the writer of the group. He's kept a journal throughout this whole ordeal.
His updates have helped keep the rescuers on the surface informed really about the well-being of all of the miners down there. He's been keeping track of all of them.
He's married.
HARRIS: A married man, yes. LEVS: Five children. He's been working in mining since before he turned 18. He's been at the San Jose mine, this mine, for eight years.
Victor Antonio Segovia Rojas.
And Tony, I was talking a little earlier about the national anthem that we saw them sing months ago. You know, the words to the national -- oh, let's listen in. We have got some sound now.
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: And that's the moment you want right there. That's the moment.
LEVS: This is it, these beautiful moments of reunions.
And I'll tell you, one of the first videos we saw of them was singing the national anthem below, and the words to the national anthem are "Puro (ph) Chile." It's about the beautiful snowcapped mountains, the beautiful --
HARRIS: Oh, it's a beautiful country.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: And here they are, back on that land again. This belief in country and in religion has sustained them all this time. They are reunited with the land that we all saw them singing about those months ago, late August, when we first saw that video.
HARRIS: And let's sort of listen to these moments.
LEVS: And you know, Tony, it's very interesting, the way that these men, while they were down there, really took on roles. It's some kind of division (ph) of labor that went on down there. And he did take on the role of really reporting on what was happening down there.
HARRIS: Now, sit down, relax. Let's get you to the hospital. Let's get you checked out.
You can see in that moment there, he's been through something. All of these miners really clearly have been through something. Put the sunglasses back on, and let's get you to the hospital, and let's get you checked out.
The work continues. Get the capsule ready to send it back down that rescue shaft and bring the next miner out, scheduled to be Daniel Esteban Herrera Campos.
LEVS: We have been hearing about the sunglasses, the blankets, the concerns about being exposed to the temperatures that are out there and to the elements after all these weeks of no exposure, and no exposure to light for all that time, to natural sunlight for all that time, and concerns about what it can do to your eyes.
HARRIS: Terrific. So it is going -- boy -- really smoothly at this point you'd have to say.
We will continue to watch this and bring you each and every miner as that miner is extricated and brought to the surface right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll keep it there in the box so you can see it for yourself.
Josh, thank you. Appreciate it.
Chile's rescued miners are getting checked out at the hospital, and we will head there next.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer right now prepping questions for tonight's Delaware Senate debate. We will warm him up when we come back.
And let's take a look at stocks. The market has been open for a while now, since 9:30. And we are soaring in positive territory, triple-digit gains so far, up 117 points.
We are following these numbers for you throughout the morning, throughout the day, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All kinds of just sheer joy on display today in Chile. One by one, rescuers hoisting the trapped miners into the bright Chilean sunshine.
This is Alex Vega, 31 years old, and a heavy machine mechanic at the mine. He surfaced about four hours ago now.
Sixty-nine days cut off from the world, the rescued miners are getting to see doctors now.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann is at the Regional Hospital.
And Patrick, some of these men, let's face it, have some pretty chronic conditions. I'm thinking diabetes, high blood pressure for some. How are they doing?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL PLATFORM JOURNALIST: Well, we're hearing they're doing very well so far. Of course, doctors have been in touch with them almost every day since they were discovered alive on August 22nd, but there's one thing about talking to them and it's something quite different being able to examine them, being able to look at the eyes.
They have been underground, Tony, as you know, now for two months without any access to direct sunlight, and of course the sun here in the Chilean desert is blinding every day. They want to make sure these men are OK before they are released, and not only just physically, checking their teeth, checking their hearts, checking to make sure that they are not exposed to any diseases, colds, or anything like that, because they have been kept secluded, but they also want to make sure that they're going to do OK mentally.
And this gentleman who was just rescued, the latest miner to be rescued, Victor Segovia, just another amazing story of someone -- we've got a note through their family over the last few weeks covering this story. This gentleman, he is a self-taught musician.
I've seven videos of him playing music in a club here in his hometown of Copiapo. He's an incredible musician. And he did it all without ever having a lesson. Plays the harmonica, plays the guitar, plays beautifully.
His family members have told us that their dream is now to get back with him and spend the afternoons together listening to him play. He's also another miner that is no stranger to accidents in the mine.
He had a bad accident that hurt his back and put him out of the mines for about a year. He returned to the mines out of necessity.
We'll have to see, Tony, what his plans are right now, but his relatives say they're going to beg him never to return to the mines again. They say it's just too dangerous. They don't want to lose him again.
HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Patrick, just a quick question. If you would, describe the scene around that hospital.
There are a lot of people who have gathered there to welcome the miners as they are brought into the hospital. What's the scene like there?
OPPMANN: You know, it's an interesting scene, because you have people living up and down the street. And they are coming out, they're gathering, they're waiting to see the miners come in.
The miners will be housed on the second and fourth floor there behind me. They will be getting top of the line care.
You have to think, Tony, that on August 5th, when this mine disaster happened, they got an urgent call that miners could be brought in at any time with serious, serious injuries. Thankfully, that was not the case. And they've had months now to prepare, and they say they're more than prepared to take care of these men for several days, if not longer.
The process of bringing them in is really quite something incredible. They bring them in over military helicopters, and last night they closed down a 30-mile road between the town and the mine because the military pilots said they were afraid that their night vision goggles might be affected by the bright lights of cars going up and down that road, so they closed it down to give precedence to these military pilots who have been bringing in the men throughout the day and throughout the night.
HARRIS: Copiapo, Chile, that's the city, that where the Regional Hospital is, and that's where our Patrick Oppmann is right now as these miners arrive to be checked out thoroughly by the medical staff there.
Patrick, appreciate it. Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: U.S. companies lend a big hand in Chile. We'll explain their crucial role in today's rescue.
We're back in a moment with more of the scenes from Chile.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. What a good day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: Three American companies have played critical roles in the rescue of the Chilean miners.
The CNN Money team's Christine Romans has a look.
And Christine, what are they contributing to this effort?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting, because you have got engineering prowess, you've got logistics, you've also got some health care technology, Tony. And I'll tell you that these companies, a lot of the different companies involved in all of this, they're pretty proud of their presence there. The place is crawling with journalists, family members, as you can see, government officials, but also, Tony, with the engineers and the technology people from companies from all over the world who got this whole thing off the ground, or out from under the ground, if you will.
UPS shipped the drill. Oakley is a sunglasses maker who sent the sunglasses down for the guys to wear on the way up. There's also a company called Schramm. This is a company based in Pennsylvania. It is the company that frankly drilled the main rescue shaft.
On the left, that's the Plan B drill that you've been hearing about. On the right, that's one of the drills that first reached the miners with a 5.5 inch diameter borehole.
And then the next company, Center Rock, is the company that actually made the drill. And the drill went into that hole and took the 5.5 inch borehole and turned it into 28 inches wide. You can see, there are hammers within that drill. So that's been doing all of this grinding and the like from there.
And then Zephyr Technology, Tony, this is a company in Annapolis, Maryland. Zephyr made this bio harness. It's something called the Omnisense Screen.
That on the right is its software. It's the computerized tracking of all of the health, of the vital statistics of each of these miners. And what they were doing is they were monitoring for panic attacks, they were monitoring for how the guys were faring during their exercise routine, how they were doing in general. And that technology is usually for first responders, frankly, firefighters in very dangerous situations, to keep an eye on them, or elite athletes. And they've been able to use that technology for these miners in these last days -- Tony.
HARRIS: Boy, this is a good international story. Chile didn't get territorial about this rescue, huh? Looked for the best from the best, and got a lot of help not only from America, but probably, we could assume, from around the world, right?
ROMANS: Oh, yes. A lot of South American companies there.
HARRIS: That's terrific.
ROMANS: A lot of logistical companies there helping move the stuff in and out. And I'll tell you that there are a lot of unsung heroes who have been working down there. They've donated their time, donated their materials.
HARRIS: Yes.
ROMANS: They are calling this a humanitarian effort. And Tony, they're not really trying to drum up a lot of PR about it. You have to kind of search around and find out.
HARRIS: Love it.
ROMANS: But they do this -- you know, there was a Chinese mine disaster earlier this year. Again, many of these same companies were there on the ground for that as well. So this is something that they do.
HARRIS: Terrific. All right, Christine. Appreciate it. Thank you. Good to see you. See you next hour.
ROMANS: Sure.
HARRIS: Coons versus O'Donnell. The fight for Vice President Joe Biden's Senate seat takes center stage tonight in Delaware, Newark, Delaware, with CNN's Wolf Blitzer -- there he is -- co- moderating.
I will talk with Wolf next about the showdown.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: It is one of the most talked about debates of the election, and you will see it on CNN tonight. Can't wait for this, the Delaware Senate debate between Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell and her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons.
Our own Wolf Blitzer of "THE SITUATION ROOM" will be co- moderating.
Wolf, good to see you.
Wolf, if you look at the polling out of Delaware, Chris Coons is the clear front-runner. But it is Christine O'Donnell who is creating a lot of the buzz in this race.
Now, for everyone around the country who will be introduced to Christine O'Donnell tonight in your co-moderated debate, who is she?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Well, we're going to find out in-depth tonight, because we are going to really go into depth on a lot of the most important issues facing the country right now, whether on jobs, the economy, taxes, some of the social issues, national security issues. We're going to deal with substance tonight, and I think the viewers out there, certainly the voters here in Delaware -- we're on the campus of the University of Delaware right now, Mitchell Hall. Behind me, that's where the debate will take place.
I think the voters, the viewers will have a better chance to size up these two candidates.
We're also, Tony, going to be releasing a new CNN/"TIME" magazine poll at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, right at the top of "THE SITUATION ROOM," on the race here in Delaware. The other polls show she is considerably behind Chris Coons.
But, you know, let's remember, going into the Republican primary, she was considerably behind Mike Castle, the long-time congressman from the state of Delaware, the favorite of the Republicans. Everybody thought he was a shoo-in, not only to get the Republican nomination, but then to be elected to this Senate seat that was once held by the vice president, Joe Biden.
She beat him. It was a narrow defeat. She beat him though, and so she and her supporters believe with the Tea Party-backed momentum, the sort of anti-incumbency, anti-Democratic mood, they think she can beat Chris Coons. He's ahead in the polls, and tonight I think we'll have an impact on what the viewers, what the voters really think.
HARRIS: Anti-incumbency, that mood in the country, the Tea Party support for Christine O'Donnell, is that the reason she was able to beat Mike Castle? And there is at least a couple of polls out there that suggest that if Mike Castle were still in this race, he would be leading right now against Chris Coons.
What do you think of that support? And does it look to you it though might be enough for her to stage a late comeback here?
BLITZER: What she's trying to show is that she's not a career politician.
HARRIS: Yes.
BLITZER: She's like you. And everybody remembers, I am not a witch, I am you. Everyone remembers that commercial. No one will ever forget that commercial. An extraordinary political ad, as we all know.
She's trying to use that almost as a badge of honor. She's had problems with her own mortgage payments, she's had problems with her IRS payments. She's had other problems, as well. She's like you, she's like me, she's like all of the voters in Delaware, across the country. It's almost like a badge of honor.
Whereas she's been going after Chris Coons, who went to an Ivy League school, he comes from an affluent background. He's not like you, an elitist, if you will, a career politician. That's the argument that she and her supporters are making, the Tea Party supporters. And so far they've used it with some success. But she's considerably behind in these polls right now.
Less than three weeks to go, and that's still a long time. And I think the debate tonight, viewers and voters will have a chance to size her up, size Chris Coons up. And it could have an impact. There's still a considerable number of voters here in Delaware who are undecided.
HARRIS: I promise I'm going to get to a question about Chris Coons here in a second. But, you know, and it's the truth that it is Christine O'Donnell that is creating the buzz in this race. And the answer to this next question, Wolf, can't be, you'll have to watch tonight to find out.
But how do you approach the "I dabbled in witchcraft years ago, " and the "I'm not a witch ad?" How do you take that on tonight as the co-moderator of this debate?
BLITZER: Well, I want to be honest with you and our viewers. I'm much more interested in how she would approach issues like Social Security, Medicare, jobs. What would she do to create jobs? Because that's issue number one, not only in Delaware, but across the country.
HARRIS: Yes.
B:LITZER: I'm interested in how she would deal with the national debt, which is exploding. The deficit, the annual budget deficits. I'm very interested in if she's a member of the United States Senate, she'll have to vote on issues involving war and peace. There are two wars going on right now in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's a war on terrorism. There's tension with North Korea, with Iran. All sorts of global issues. There's economic global issues, outsourcing with China, with some of the other Asian countries.
These are the substantive issues I'm really interested in going through and some of the social issues. I suspect the witchcraft stuff will come up. When he was in college, Chris Coons, they branded him as a bearded Marxist. Maybe that'll come up. Although I have to tell you, these questions have been asked and answers of both of these candidates numerous times over the past several weeks, including last week, our own Jim Acosta had an exclusive interview with Christine O'Donnell. So she's gone through it, she's answered these questions. He's answered the questions. I want voters to have a better appreciation of where they stand on the substantive issues that could affect their lives.
HARRIS: And I got to tell you, we will appreciate that approach to this debate tonight, Wolf, because I think you're right and I've heard you voice your frustration that you haven't had more of the candidates on your program to take on the substantive issues of the day.
But I promised you a question on Chris Coons and let me get to it. Maybe you can give the viewers a bit of an outline, a sketch, of who he is. As you've mentioned a couple of times, he is leading this race. It has been suggested that he would go to Washington as a rubber stamp to the policies of the Obama administration.
What do we know? What do you think we'll find out about Chris Coons tonight?
BLITZER: I think we'll find out that he's very much in line with the policies of a Joe Biden, who was the long-time senator from Delaware. Sort of a relatively moderate liberal, a Democrat who, traditionally, got a little bit of an Independent streak in this state of Delaware.
But, you know, he's a politician. He's had to deal with local issues as a local county official here. And he's had to deal with issues of property taxes, other taxes. So he knows a lot about the local issues, the statewide issues, and presumably, if he doesn't know a lot about the national issues, national security issues, that will be quickly evident later tonight. I suspect we'll learn a lot more about him in the course of this debate.
The format is interesting, Tony, and I think I should just point out very quickly. We'll ask a question to one of the candidates. That candidate will have two minutes to answer the question. The other candidate will have one minute to respond and then there will be four minutes of an open discussion, follow-up questions, and a little back and forth go on between these two candidates. And then we'll move on to the next subject.
All of these formats have been carefully negotiated by the campaigns although there are no restrictions on what questions we can ask, no restrictions on the follow-ups or anything like that. And what's also good is that some of the students here at the University of Delaware, they have questions as well. And I'm really anxious for those questions to be answered.
HARRIS: He is our leader, the leader of the Best Political Team on Television. Wolf Blitzer, the host of "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Wolf, appreciate you taking some time out from your preps to be with us. And enjoy tonight's debate. Thank you, Wolf.
And don't forget to tune in to CNN tonight at 7:30 Eastern Time. The Delaware Senate debate co-hosted by Wolf Blitzer. That's at 7:30 Eastern Time. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: CNN, your hurricane headquarters. This way, this way. Reynolds Wolf, give us an update on hurricane Paula.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This hurricane Paula. Paula, the latest of this particular storm, well, here it is. It's CAT 2, winds are 100 miles per hour, gusts have been stronger, up to 120. It is moving to the north and doing so at about five miles per hour. Here's the Yucatan peninsula, here's the west side of Cuba.
As we've put into motion, you'll see it's going to be driving a bit more to the north. Question is, where is it going to go long- term? For that answer, we take a look at the latest forecast path that we have from the National Hurricane Center, and as I mentioned, looks like it's going to continue in the north trajectory then veering off to the northeast as we make our way into Thursday. And then into Friday, it should weaken a little bit as it gets very close to the west coast of Cuba. And the latest path brings it right over Cuba as we get into Saturday and into Sunday.
Thing is though, there is that cone of uncertainty. It could go a little bit more to the north, possible going towards the Florida Keys, or it could veer a little bit more to the south and go into the Caribbean. But the best course of action for the time being, looks like it may go into Cuba and weaken. That is the latest we have on the storm, more updates coming throughout the afternoon and evening with Chad Myers. Let's get it back to you, Tony.
HARRIS: All right. Reynolds, appreciate it. Thank you. Good day to you.
Chile's miners emerge to a hero's welcome after 69 days in isolation. What about their mental health? I am talking with a psychologist, here he is. Dr. E, coming up next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Boy, the world watches as Chile pulls its trapped miners safety. After 69 days, the men seem to be in relatively good physical condition. Relatively, we don't know for sure. But their mental health will take some time to evaluate.
Erik Fisher is a clinic psychologist in Atlanta. Dr. E, good to see you.
DR. ERIK FISHER, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Great to be here.
HARRIS: What were your major concerns about the mental health of these miners trapped 69 days in the days leading up to this rescue?
FISHER: Well, there's a lot of preparation for this. And the preparation -- they've been in that environment where they're getting accustomed to it to some degree, they want to get out. Some of my concerns were, somebody could get through that whole situation unfazed because they work in miners (SIC), they lived in the mines and things.
But coming through that shaft on the way out, had there been problems coming out, could have been their traumatizing event. So you want to prepare them for that because trauma is interpreted by the individual. We might look at a situation and say, that's a walk in the park, or wow, I don't know how he lived through that. But it's that individual's interpretation of the event that's going to determine how they make it through it.
HARRIS: Good. So Erik, as you been watching the rescue so far today, have you noticed anything? Some of the men have been a little subdued coming out, some of the men have been jubilant coming out.
FISHER: Right.
HARRIS: As a man who works in the mental health field, is there anything you can learn from the affect of the men as they come out of the hole, those initial moments?
FISHER: I think you're seeing their personality come through. The guy who came up who gave the rocks, the sense of humor came through where he brought up souvenirs, so to speak.
HARRIS: Yes.
FISHER: The guy who came up and kissed the ground, you know, the spiritual leader. You're going to see more of their personality. When people are under stress, it's harder to act. So they're just going to be who they are, as well as you have to add in fatigue, exhaustion, trauma, illness, all these other factors that they just might be happy to get out.
HARRIS: So what would have been the single most important thing to have been done by the folks coordinating this rescue to make sure that the men were in good mental shape during these 69 days?
FISHER: Make sure they're prepared for what's going to happen when they get out. Because people have to go what they're getting into. Human beings, we're made for gradual changes at times. You know, if we spend too much time in the cold or it gets too cold, we get frostbite. If it's too hot, we get sunburned. So we've got to realize the graduated exposure to these experiences is really important. When we experience trauma, our brain wave pattern changes and the way we approach life changes so we have to recognize that they need time to work out of that experience, too.
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute. My instinct -- I'm a family member. Let me put myself in the place of a family member of one of these miners down there for 69 days. My instinct is I want to hug you up. I want to -- I just want to consume you, right?
FISHER: Right, exactly.
HARRIS: OK. And would that be helpful or maybe not so helpful for the miners? Do they need a certain amount of space to decompress or to do whatever? FISHER: It's going to depend on the individual. That's very much a temperament-based thing or personality-based thing. How do they feel with closeness and comfort. On that level you have to look at the interaction of the families and how is this really going to play out long time?
Because each individual -- some people might come out of it changed. The person who started writing and wrote poetry and stuff, he might have been maybe a harder person and comes out and really wants love and wants to feel that love and comfort. Others might be hardened by this and they might have buried emotions deep inside.
The metaphor for healing is like being trapped in a mine. And how they heal this is what they buried inside and how the therapists, psychologists, family member and the whole country helps them bring out into the light what they've buried through this experience.
HARRIS: There are some -- you know how these stories develop. There are going to be some miners that -- that we gravitate to.
FISHER: Right, right.
HARRIS: They're going to be super stars. Maybe it's Sepulveda maybe it's or Heredia (ph). And there are others who will just sort of --
FISHER: Right.
HARRIS: That can be difficult for, A, the miner who is now the superstar, and the others who went through this shared the experience who the media will then -- well, I'm sorry to say it -- will ignore, move on.
FISHER: Right.
HARRIS: How did you handle that situation, for both the superstar and the person whose story isn't the headline grabbing story for the media
FISHER: Well, we are emotional beings and we have to understand that. A lot of people want to eliminate emotion from the human equation, and we can't. So sometimes the people who are little more mild in temperament, they might act like and they might act like they don't want the attention even though inside they're thirsting for it. Whereas the ones who are thrust in the limelight, they play the role but they might not want it. There are a lot of people in the media who they got out of the media and they want to go home and be left alone.
HARRIS: Yes.
FISHER: You know?
HARRIS: Yes.
FISHER: So it's one of those things again where you have to look at each person individually, and you need somebody to be watching out for them. Like a parent, somebody might have to say to them, no, this isn't good for you. Somebody's looking out for you.
HARRIS: How much time do you have? Because the next miner -- good that's a great answer -- the next miner is close to the surface, Daniel Esteban Herrera Campos is close. I want to you stand by and I want you to help us walk through the extraction and the initial moments. We understand he's close to the surface now so in the next five minutes or so we should have the pictures.
Would you mind doing that?
FISHER: Absolutely would love to.
HARRIS: Perfect. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, with 20 days to go before America votes in the midterm elections, we're going to get to politics, I promise you, but we are really close to the next extraction of the next miner.
That's got to be a family member right there waiting for Daniel Esteban Herrera Campos to appear in that Phoenix capsule to the surface here. Josh is with us; Dr. Erik Fisher is with us, clinical psychologist from Atlanta here in the Atlanta area.
And, Doctor, let me ask the first question of you. How important is it for these miners as they are coming up through that rescue shaft to be able to talk to the people on the surface about the ride? And what might be the communication back and forth?
FISHER: Right. That communication is absolutely critical because they need to be busy doing something. Again, if an experience becomes traumatizing --
HARRIS: Here we go look at this.
FISHER: You want to -- amazing.
HARRIS: So you were saying, I'm sorry. I interrupted. I just wanted to draw attention, this is the moment.
FISHER: If they're coming up out of, you know, through this situation -- they have never been in something that small before, most of them, so it's a new experience, it's a novel experience and you want to keep them busy, you want to keep their minds occupied.
HARRIS: Yes.
FISHER: And you want to keep them talking. What's going on with the rock? Is there any water coming in? You know, what do you want to eat when you get back on the earth, you know, things like that are there questions that keep their mind off what's going on through the situation. HARRIS: Now some of this feels like common sense. So the capsule surfaces, and we've got all of the workers who are around the capsule right now. Is it as simple as, hey, how are you doing? Are you OK? How is it going? Welcome.
FISHER: Yes, absolutely.
HARRIS: Is it that simple?
FISHER: Yes, you don't want to overwhelm them. Again, this is something they're still adjusting to and they probably want to see their family. They might want to just get some good rest or get some warm clothes on. Some of the creature confidence they may be looking for.
HARRIS: Hey, do we have translation on this? Because I want to listen, but I don't know how many -- OK. We're not sure we're going to have translation, but let me pause for a moment.
CHILEAN BROADCASTER: They are currently taking his harness off. That harness is connected to some hooks inside of the capsule. He can't still exit the Phoenix, because he's still tied in.
HARRIS: OK. You're listening to Chilean TV right now, describing the action. And as we wait, Josh, you've got a bit of a profile?
LEVS: Yes, let's stay on these pictures and I'll tell you about them.
HARRIS: Great. I just wanted to make sure we have them. Let's listen in.
CHILEAN BROADCASTER: In her first letter --
LEVS: Daniel Esteban Herrera Campos, 27 years old. You know, we've been talking about how everyone took on a role down there and we will be learning a lot more as to what is it was really like, but he served the role of paramedic assistant down underground. He was originally a truck driver.
Let's listen in.
HARRIS: There you go.
LEVS: There you go, those are the moments we have been seeing today.
HARRIS: Let's listen a bit longer to see if we can get some translation and perhaps what is said here. Yes for each arrival, but we love this moment.
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: Unbelievable. Doctor, what is this like for the supportive -- oh. CHILEAN BROADCASTER: She said to him she wouldn't leave the site until she could leave with him. Daniel looks very moved. He's greeting all of the people there waiting for the exit.
HARRIS: OK. This part of the scene. So let's turn down the Chilean broadcaster for just a moment. We'll monitor that.
And Dr. Fischer, what is this moment like for the loved one? We heard that particular loved one declaring, look, I wasn't going to leave until you came out of there. What has this experience been like for a loved one waiting for that person to come out of that shaft?
FISHER: I would imagine it's an indescribable experience. You know, joy, relief, tears, just a whole range of emotions that that person is going to be experiencing. And, again, to imagine that you may never see this person again, and they come out of this situation -- and you still don't know what's going to happen, there's still a lot of unknowns here -- but just absolute joy.
HARRIS: Look at that.
So Josh, I'm looking through the profile on Daniel. I don't see that he has a family here. Do you have anything on whether or not he has a family, kids? He's only 27 years old.
LEVS: He's only 27 years old. In general, we have pretty good profiles here, so when they have spouses and children, when they have wives and children, we know it. What I'm seeing here is 27 years old, he's a truck driver and he took on the role of paramedic down there.
And Tony, as we look at this, I will tell you, people all over the world are watching this, they are responding, we are hearing from viewers about how incredible an experience it is. And some of them stayed up through the night, they have been watching all of these. I'm going to tell you what a few of our viewers are saying.
Helen Wilmot (ph) wrote us, "Watching the mine rescues is the best reality TV I've ever seen."
Claudia (ph) wrote us, "Watching these miners being pulled out one by one, all of the positiveness and cheerful spirits these people show after being down there makes me forget all of the whining and complaining elsewhere."
This is from Bobbie (ph), "Each one is like a mini-drama. The entire thing is mindboggling in so many ways. I'm hooked."
I'll give you one more here from Rhonda, "I have been touched by the spirit of oneness of the Chilean people, the mindset of the miners themselves, their gratitude to god and their families and their leaders. Not once did I hear disdain."
People are moved by this. And, you know, you were saying 16, so we are very close to the halfway mark. I guess the next guy when he's halfway up technically that will be the halfway mark. And so far not just so good, but so incredible. HARRIS: Well, Erik, while I've got you here, so you're at the hospital and you're a part of the mental health team that's waiting to talk to Daniel in this case.
FISHER: Right.
HARRIS: What do you want to know? How do you want to approach him? You certainly want to get him speaking and telling you what's in his head and his heart. How do you go about doing that?
FISHER: Well, again, you've got to let it be on his time and part. And you also have to, again, make sure the doctors are doing what they need to do medically. But you want to kind of ask him, what do you need? Sometimes people assume that people know what they need. But ask him, what do you want, what do you want? He might want to be with family, but then they might need to explain to them, this is what we're doing and this is why.
So they have probably been briefed on what is going to happen once they get out and why they're doing that, but it's really a matter of taking the time to assess them, not necessarily what they're saying.
A lot of communication is really body language. And that's what we have to look at, is the body language of the people, and the body language of the miners, and see how they're responding, more so than what they're saying sometimes.
HARRIS: Do you see in those scenes with Daniel coming out?
FISHER: My concern is that they know they're on national TV or world TV, even. So they're -- I wouldn't want people to feel like they have to hold back their feelings because of their pride ,you know, that they have to look strong. Let the emotion out. He looked like he was feeling kind of emotional. You know, he was laying back there --
HARRIS: At the end there.
FISHER: Exactly. It's like -- I don't know if it was his mother or who, but the person that they seemed to be really happy to see them.
And imagine seeing this person, and then all of a sudden being taken away from that again. It's almost like a traumatic birth, you know, where you're born and as the infant your first attachment and you're taken off to ICU. And those can be very traumatizing experiences from the work I do with hypnosis with people in trauma.
HARRIS: Was a pretty powerful visual you just gave us.
Thank you, Erik. Dr. Erik Fisher with us. Josh Levs, as well.
Let's take a quick break. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
