SANTIAGO, Chile, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The Chilean miners who spent 69 days underground say a manager refused to allow them to leave when they heard creaking noises a few hours before the collapse.
Juan Illanes made a statement to Carlos Vilches, a member of the Chamber of Deputies and of a committee investigating the collapse at the San Jose Mine, the Santiago Times reported. Two other miners, Jimmy Sanchez and Omar Reygadas, supported his story that Carlos Pinilla, the operations manager, refused to allow them to get out.
Vilches, who was trained as a mining engineer, said the minors should testify at a committee hearing.
"When the mine makes a sound, it serves as a warning," Vilches said. "Faced with these warning noises, the San Jose mine owners should have taken all measures to safeguard the mine."
Government inspectors cited the mine 42 times between 2004 and 2010 for safety violations. In 2006, two miners were killed and 182 hurt in a total of 56 accidents.
Only a month before the Aug. 5 collapse, a miner was injured so severely by a rock fall that his leg had to be amputated.
