8 Wing Trenton airlifts massive drill to rescue trapped miners in Dominican

Military members at 8 Wing Trenton are doing their part in an international rescue mission to save miners trapped underground for more than a week in central Dominican Republic.

Air crews from 8 Wing Trenton have airlifted a special excavation system to the Caribbean country to help rescue workers bore a tunnel to save two miners trapped underground in a copper and zinc mine.

The miners remain in an open chamber more than 30 metres underground after a landslide blocked an entry shaft at the Cerro de Maimón operation on the island.

The men have been kept alive via a small pipe drilled through the shaft blockage to provide food, water and medicine, according to news reports.

A Boeing C-17 Globemaster based at 8 Wing was loaded on the weekend with a Cubex Model 6200 drill and related boring equipment to dig the tunnel to free the miners.

Authorities expected the miners to be retrieved as early as Tuesday if digging efforts proceed as planned.

Department of National Defence confirmed “a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-177 Globemaster from 429 Squadron, based out of Trenton, Ontario, flew from Val-d'Or, Quebec, to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Aug. 7, carrying mining equipment to assist with the rescue of two trapped miners.”

“This mission is under Operation Globe which is part of Canadian Armed Forces commitment to active overseas engagement by helping other Government of Canada departments with various tasks or to participate in Government of Canada activities abroad,” DND said in a statement.

National Defence officials referred to news coverage by dominicannews.com that the boring equipment “allows tunneling more than two meters per hour, the Dominican government expects to be able to remove the miners Gregory Alexander Pérez and Carlos Yepes, trapped in the Cerro Maimón mine, before Tuesday.”

“The Vice President of the Dominican Republic Raquel Peña, highlighted the rapid and timely response of Canada to the call made by President Luis Abinader, to the request for equipment that would be able to get the two workers to the mainland,” DND said.

The Canadian Globemaster C-17 arrived in Dominican Republic on Sunday night with more than 52,000 pounds of equipment, dominicannews.com reported.

The news outlet reported Monday the rescue machinery was provided by Machines Roger International, a mining firm based in Val-d'Or, Quebec.