Trapped Miners Remain Sane By Listening To iPods

Claustrophobically interred miles deep within the chthonic bowels of the earth? Surrounded by nothing but the palpable darkness, the corpse of a buddy and an omnivorous silence threatening to swallow you forever that is only held at bay by the sound of your own hysterical breathing? Well, you may have been unlucky enough to be caught in a mine cave-in, and the rescuers may very well be powerless to reach you in time. But at least they’ve sent some iPods down the shaft so you can while away your last few hours listening to the Cardigans.

Some unfortunate Tasmanians are experiencing just that nightmare scenario in a collapsed gold mine in Australia. They’ve been buried alive since last Tuesday, but the rescuers are having a hard time drilling down to rescue them. So in addition to lacing a PVC pipe through the rock crevices to deliver food and water to the trapped miners, the rescuers also somehow managed to send down some iPods, the theory being that not only will listening to some tunes allow to keep their fingernails gripped on the last shreds of their sanity, but it can also double as a decent flashlight.

No word at all what songs were sent down on the device (although one man did request country music… if this were a film, we’d bet on him as being the one who doesn’t make it out alive), or how they’re going to recharge them when they run out of juice.

iPod relief for trapped miners [The Age]

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