Chile miners rescue interview: why I went down the shaft

He was the first man that the miners had seen face to face after 69 days in captivity. Travelling down the shaft inside the ‘Phoneix’ Manuel Gonzales was watched by millions as he stepped out of the capsule and, hands on hips, told the miners that the rescue operation had begun.

He has become one of the many heroes associated with the ‘miracle rescue of the Chile miners’. Jonathan Miller went to meet him and ask him what it all felt like. You can read a full transcript of his interview below.

Transcript of the interview with Manuel Gonzales

Jonathan Miller: “I was standing in one of the family tents in Campamento Esperanza, watching you at 11:20pm and you were being strapped into that harness and you were about to go down. And your face looked determined, but you looked anxious. To me it seemed like you were the bravest man in the world doing this incredible thing. What did it feel like for you?”

Manuel Gonzales: “Well, maybe I was brave because I took that responsibility, but I was very proud and confident in what I was doing because we had tested the capsule before and it didn’t have any problems. We saw some videos of the escape shaft and it was in perfect condition. I was very anxious to get down there and see their faces, to see how they were and to get the rescue of the 33 miners underway.

I was very anxious to get down there and see their faces, to see how they were and to get the rescue of the 33 miners underway.

“I felt anxious when I was going down, particularly in the last few metres before I got there. I wanted to see their faces and see how they were physically.

“When I got there and they hugged me, I was delighted because I saw that they were well and they were organised.

“I told them that I’d come to rescue them and that everything would be OK. That there were 17 partners of mine up above and 17 million fellow Chileans watching on TV. I said there wouldn’t be any technical problems and in a matter of minutes they would be with their families.

“When I got there, they hugged me and immediately I felt their warmth towards me. I was the first they’d seen in many weeks. I wanted to transmit to them the confidence I felt.

“I told them that from that moment on I was in charge and that I wouldn’t leave until the last of them had gone.

I told them that from that moment on I was in charge and that I wouldn’t leave until the last of them had gone.

“Some of them wept. I had to contain myself because I got really emotional too. That moment was very special. They made me feel that I was their saviour.

“I thought of their families and that in a few minutes they would be reunited and of the joy that would bring to them, our country and the whole world.”

Jonathan Miller: “All this containing of your emotions, it’s a very hard thing to do. Have you found it hard to contain those emotions now? Have you felt them upwelling inside you?”

Manuel Gonzales: Well, when I get emotional I usually start laughing, so in that moment, I was grinning a lot! I had a lump in my throat, because it was a powerful feeling to be at the receiving end of those hugs.

“Some of them cried – and that made me very happy because I knew they were tears of joy and that their worries would soon fade away.

“In me, they saw hope.

“After I came out, I talked to my wife and she was crying her eyes out. She was very emotional and she was ready to kill me.

“I have two kids, Christian, 16, and Carla, 12. I tried not to them involved because I knew it was a dangerous mission. The morning of the rescue, I knew I was the first to go in and I didn’t tell them anything. They only discovered when they saw it on TV.

“I didn’t tell them because I didn’t want to worry them about me going down a tube half a mile into the earth. Afterwards, I called them and my wife was very happy but also worried about what I’d done.”

Jonathan Miller: “You told me how you managed to dispel the anxiety of the men by your confidence but you haven’t really told me very much about the condition of the men. What was your impression, in detail, about how they were, and about the place in which they had been living, when you saw it for the first time?”

Manuel Gonzales: “I’ve been working in mines for 20 years, drilling and blasting. So I’m pretty used to seeing conditions like that. What really struck me was the temperature. It was between 35 and 40 degrees, with 100 per cent humidity.

Those temperatures were extreme. Nobody can work in those conditions. There was no ventilation, high humidity. It was inhumane.

“I was also struck by what they were wearing. They were in their underwear because it was so hot. Those temperatures were extreme. Nobody can work in those conditions. There was no ventilation, high humidity. It was inhumane.

Jonathan Miller: You made this point to President Pinera when you came out, you made a very political point: yes there were lots of hugs, well done, congratulations on this amazing rescue, but you said to Pinera “things have to change and let this be a lesson.” That’s a big thing to say.

Manuel Gonzales: “I think I represent the majority of Chileans. In my opinion, nobody in the world – not only in Chile, because I know that in many parts of the world people work in inhumane conditions.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to tell the world, and Chile, that you can’t pay with people’s lives. That you can’t put profit before human life. No one anywhere should have to risk their lives for what they do.”

Jonathan Miller: What was it like for you in the 26 minutes that you spent alone?

Manuel Gonzales: “Well, it was a moment of reflection. I was left alone. The mine was empty. I was contemplating on the fact that 33 miners had been trapped for 70 days in terrible conditions and that their rescue had been a success.

“I also thought about my family, that they were waiting for me and I knew that they wanted me out of there as fast as possible.

I believe in God. I am a believer and I know that to do this was my destiny.

“I thought of the joy that this rescue team had given to this group of families and about the pride that this country would feel to have those miners back and what this would mean.

“I think this was a global event. A lot of people watched and I was happy to be one of key players. I believe in God. I am a believer and I know that to do this was my destiny.”

Ben De Pear, Channel 4 News Foreign Editor, blogs on the end of the Chilean miners rescue and how it was received by a younger than expected audience:

"A few minutes later my five-year-old son, who's never willingly watched TV news joined me. He stared at the screen and asked me what was happening?

"Normally when Channel 4 News comes on he is whisked to bed; if its a foreign story that leads it's often about Afghanistan and not appropriate, if the TV remains on with a domestic or political lead then he's not interested. "This...is....soooo...boring" is his normal reaction

"This was different. There are 33 men (he loves the number), at the bottom of a mine, basically a really long hole like in Fantastic Mister Fox, I explain."

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