Last Breath: Survival at the Limit

Episode 2: "Buried Darkness" - The 2010 Chilean Mining Disaster Summary: On August 5, 2010, thirty-three miners became trapped 2,300 feet underground when the San José copper-gold mine collapsed in Chile's Atacama Desert. With limited emergency supplies, dwindling oxygen, and temperatures reaching 95 degrees in the dark caverns, the miners organized themselves to stretch resources meant for two days into what would become a 69-day ordeal. The story explores how shift supervisor Luis Urzúa maintained order, how they rationed a 48-hour food supply for over two months, and how they coped psychologically with the very real possibility they would never be found. Their eventual rescue through a specially drilled shaft—watched live by over a billion people worldwide—remains one of the most complex and inspiring rescue operations in mining history.