Two Spoonfuls of Tuna Every Two Days: The Chilean Miners' Leader

Tales of Life: Ordinary People, Extraordinary True Stories · Sep 30, 2026 · 10m

On 5 August 2010 the San José mine in Chile's Atacama Desert collapsed and trapped 33 men about 700 metres underground. Their shift foreman, 54-year-old Luis Urzúa, had emergency food meant for about two days. For 17 days nobody on the surface knew if anyone was alive. Under his lead the men shared two spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk and a bite of biscuit every other day, voted on every decision and kept a routine in the dark. Then a drill broke through with a note taped to it. This is the documented story of the 69 days, including the parts the miners later admitted were not heroic at all…