Los 33 - Tale of Love and Crisis Management

It’s TODAY!

The first of Los 33 has surfaced from 700 metre-deep ‘temporary home’ for the past 69 days a few minutes ago. Another 32 to go and I am crossing my fingers, praying for their safe return to their beloveds.

I’m off for some exotic gastronomic rendezvous but in the mean time, I would like to share Guardian’s interview with Luis Urza, the leader of Los 33.

Los 33’s story is not just miraculous. It is a perfect case study for crisis management. It shows that everyone is precious but acceptance to that fact does not stop there. It should be translated into actions, where they must play their courageous part, to their level best.

Godspeed to Los 33!

Luis Urzua, the shift foreman trapped underground with 32 other Chilean miners, who has taken much of the praise for the wellbeing of the team under his command, has told the Guardian he was humbled by the men's ability to stay united.

Urzua, who has become a national hero in Chile and is expected to be the last to leave the mine after some 10 weeks underground, said in an exclusive interview: "This was a group with different personalities and manners of being. They're different characters."

"We have had a stage here in our lives that we never planned for and I hope to never live again like this, but that's the life of a miner."

Urzua has been widely credited with keeping the men alive during the first 17 days, when he rationed food, giving one spoonful of tuna to each of the miners every 48 hours.

Urzua was also instrumental in maintaining a sense of order and purpose underground – a move that Nasa specialists considered key to maintaining group unity and individual purpose in situations of extreme confinement.

"We had to be strong, all the workers in the mine fulfilled their roles, as journalists, as spokesmen, and we worked hard for our own rescue," said Urzua, when asked how he managed to keep the 33 men organised.

Asked about the dangers of San José mine, Urzua said, "We always say that when you go into the mine you respect the mine and hope you get out".

Speaking about the rescue effort, he said: "We're so proud the whole country has come behind us."

Urzua said the men are cleaning up their underground space, "but we don't have any place to put the garbage".He was not worried about being the last man to leave the mine.

Urzua then passed the phone to Richard Villaroel, who is expected to be among the first miners to leave, given that his wife is nine months pregnant and expected to deliver the baby this week.

"I didn't sleep at all last night, I couldn't," said Villaroel. He sent "lots of love to his family waiting above".