2 The Chilean Miners’ Rescue – 2010
Estimated Number of Viewers: 1,000,000,000
In August 2010, 33 miners were trapped in a mine in the Atacama region of northern Chile. A ramp collapsed, causing the catastrophe. Planning for the rescue operation lasted months, and it took nearly a full day to recover the victims. More than a billion people watched the proceedings.
The miners were trapped underground for a total of 69 days, and for more than two weeks, communication was virtually impossible. During that period, the men had to ration two days’ worth of emergency food supplies until officials could make contact again.