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People Trapped Underground (In Mines, Wells, Caves, Etc.)

gyrtrash

Gone But Not Forgotten
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I was in idle conversation with a journalist from my local 'paper today (the Yorkshire Evening Post), and the subject of macabre stories came up...

He recalled an incident from his early days, "..about 30 years ago..", when a pot-holer had got himself stuck underground and could not be moved. This was somewhere in the NW, perhaps Cheshire (or Peak District?).
He told how various plans to free him were put into practice, but to no avail...A bore-hole was sunk but was unsuccessful.

He died there after several days....
The journalist was amazed that the poor guy couldn't be rescued, and said that the days of waiting were horrific.

Surely in these modern times the pot-holer wouldn't be just left, even if the worst scenario occured surely he could be 'put out of his pain'...not left to his fate...

Don't suppose anyone can fill in the details?

Or am I the hapless victim of a 30-year old Urban Legend?....

:rolleyes:
 
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It's not just a UL; it has happened before. Usually they just get trapped in chambers that flood, and are drowned, the bodies never being recovered. I don't think rescue attempts are given up before the point where chances of survival are negligable.
At least, that's what a pot-holer I know told me. I don't do holes in the ground, myself.
 
Quite apart from the fact that mercy killing is illegal, I just can't imagine anyone taking the decision to do it. Most people would think "While there's life there's hope".

But there have been other stories of this nature. One particularly heart-rending one concerned a child who had fallen down a well shaft and become stuck. Rescue services tried excavating a parallel shaft to get at the child, but after several days work the child died.

But in other similar cases there have been succesful rescues, so people will try, and hope, until the rescue succeeds or the victim succumbs.

But a long drawn out tragedy will naturally be stressful. By contrast motor accident fatality is tragic for the survivors and relatives, but they can usually console themselves with the thought "At least it was quick".
 
Inverurie Jones said:
It's not just a UL; it has happened before. Usually they just get trapped in chambers that flood, and are drowned, the bodies never being recovered. I don't think rescue attempts are given up before the point where chances of survival are negligable.
At least, that's what a pot-holer I know told me. I don't do holes in the ground, myself.

What happens to the bodies?

Is there a 'Most dangerous cave/pot-hole in the country?'...one that contains the most remains?:eek!!!!:
 
there was a film called i think "Ace In The Hole" about manipulation of a child in a well story...i think any know? Kirk Douglas i think..... I rmeber going on a school Geography field trip to the peak District and being told that story about a guy trapped underground by a pot Rescue bloke...even then i dismissed it as a "danger tail"....
 
David Raven said:
What happens to the bodies?

Is there a 'Most dangerous cave/pot-hole in the country?'...one that contains the most remains?:eek!!!!:
Generally they are recovered after the flood. Occaisionally nothing is found
 
Haven't heard about the case of the child dying in a well, but there is the famous case of toddler Jessica McClure, who got stuck in a Texas well-shaft for nearly 60 hours in October 1978. But the story had a happy ending - she was safely taken out after rescuers tunneled a second shaft alongside her and suffered only dehydration and minor injuries. That got made into a film - Everybody's Baby: The Rescue Of Jessica McClure. Moreover, well-wishers sent in so many donations that her parents were able to set up a $700,000 trust fund that paid for all her future education and medical expenses.
BTW, the 1951 film Ace In The Hole, about a corrupt reporter stringing out the rescue of a man trapped in a tunnel, should not be confused with the more recent Bruce Willis film of the same name!
 
I have several relations who are members of Cave Rescue groups. Occasionally they too have gruesome stories to tell.

Cavers can certainly be washed away in sudden floods and their bodies not recovered.

I've heard this too: a caver can get stuck in such a way that they have to be anaesthetised and a limb broken to get them out! Sometimes it is more than one arm/leg or all four. I don't know when or where this happened but I'm assured it does.

The story about that particular caver who died about 30 years ago does ring a bell with me. I'd be a teenager then and seem to remember reading lurid accounts in the newspapers, complete with maps of impossibly narrow-looking tunnels.
 
In 1925 in Kentucky, a young man named Floyd Collins was trapped and died in the cave after 18 days of agonizing attempts to free him. His body was eventually removed. It was later put on display at the site, although bits had been eaten by cave crickets. The whole case caused a media frenzy and a ballad was written about the case.

Here's a site with information. It's from a children's book, but gives the basic facts.

jamesmdeem.com/cavestory2.htm
Link is obsolete. The current link is:
https://www.jamesmdeem.com/stories.cave.floydcollins.html


And, another, about the Floyd Collins Museum: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/KYCAVfloyd.html

Collins' story was made into a Broadway musical in the 1990s. Tasteless, but it seems to have been very popular: http://floydcollins.tripod.com/

An excellent book on the subject: Trapped! the Story of Floyd Collins

"I was a reference librarian in a previous life."
 
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a Texan tradition

Ah...I remember the baby Jessica ordeal, I think it was in the late 80's, though--I watched the whole thing on tv.

A few years ago, a woman who had been in hypno-regression therapy 'remembered' that her father had killed a childhood friend and dumped the body in a well. My dad had to go down a shitload of wells in West Texas (somewhat north of the Permian Basin where Jessica was). He said they found human remains in several of them, but never the human remains they were looking for.

There was a story in the news fairly recently about a man who fell down an old well on his way to get fried chicken or something. I think it was near Houston. People searched for him, but he wasn't found until he lost enough weight that he could reach around and get his cell phone.
 
Has it struck anyone else that the recent difficulties encountered by a British team in Mexico expose a classic fortean piece of news? ...

A team, of strictly scientific personnel are caught off-guard, owing to unseasonal weather, in a cave system in eastern Mexico and subsequently trapped by rising water levels.

It then transpires that they're not civvies, but a team of four army types and 2 scientists.

They then (politely) refuse the help of the Mexicans, preferring to wait for their own rescue team, hastily despatched from Blighty.

Now you get the fact that Mexico is peeved because it doesn't like foreign military units exercising within its borders. ...

I mean c'mon! Something must be going on. It's exactly like the Arnie vehicle "Predator". Except they don't get trapped in a cave in that movie.

What were they doing down there? Why aren't they accepting offers of aid? What are they hiding :sceptic:?

Or is it just me?

For more about this story, see the thread dedicated to it:
Cuetzalan Expedition
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/cuetzalan-expedition.14351/
 
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Man found after weeks in cave
By Hugh Schofield
Paris

A man who went missing five weeks ago in south-western France has been found alive in an underground cave system where he had got lost.
Jean-Luc Josuat-Verges, 48, told police he survived by eating wood and clay.


He was found thanks to some teenagers who had been exploring the caves, which are normally closed to the public.

Mr Josuat-Verges left his home on 18 December suffering from depression and telling his wife he wanted to be alone for a time, local newspapers said.

Taking a bottle of whisky he drove his jeep to an abandoned mushroom farm consisting of a vast network of underground tunnels.

But in the pitch blackness he got lost and for the next 35 days he had to survive as he could.

Wrapped in plastic sheeting, he said he ate wood and clay, which may have been the remains of the mushrooms.

On Thursday the teenagers, taking advantage of a teachers' strike, went to explore the underground galleries which are supposed to be out of bounds to the public.

Seeing the man's jeep, they alerted the police who eventually found him on Friday.

He was thin, very dishevelled, but alive. It was like seeing a mummy rising from the dead, one officer told a newspaper.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 198945.stm
Published: 2005/01/22 23:11:53 GMT

© BBC MMV
 
Man survives five weeks underground

Greets

Man survives five weeks underground*

*Kim Willsher in Paris
Monday January 24, 2005
The Guardian <http://www.guardian.co.uk>*

A man has been found alive after spending five weeks trapped in a labyrinth of underground caves in south-west France.

Jean-Luc Josuat-Vergès, 48, told his rescuers that he had survived for 35 days in the pitch darkness by eating rotten wood and clay. He was found only by a "miraculous" stroke of luck when teenagers taking advantage of a one-day teachers' strike decided to explore the caves. Mr Josuat-Vergès left his home on December 18 suffering from depression and telling his wife he wanted to spend some time alone.

Carrying a bottle of whisky, he drove to a network of galleries and grottos at Madiran in the Hautes-Pyrénées once used as a mushroom farm. He became lost in the dark.

His wife Ginou, a teacher, believing he had gone for a short walk, hired a helicopter to search for him. He was rescued on Friday when the teenagers spotted his car and alerted the police, who sent 20 officers into the caves. They found him 200 metres from the entrance.

Mr Josuat-Vergè lost 18kg (2st 12lb). He said: "I went there after a little bout of depression but when I found myself suddenly trapped and in a survival situation, everything changed."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1396932,00.html
 
Australia mine rescuers delayed

Rescuers are using low-impact explosives to help free two Australian miners trapped for nearly a fortnight 1km (half a mile) underground.
They had been using hand tools to cut through the remaining 3m (10ft) but came up against extremely hard rock.

Mine manager Matthew Gill said progress was slow and it was "unlikely" the men would be free on Sunday.

Todd Russell, 35, and Brant Webb, 37, were trapped by a small earthquake on 25 April which killed a third man.

The pair, who are both married with children, were in a tiny steel cage when the earthquake hit, which protected them from the falling rocks and saved their lives.

The body of miner Larry Knight, who died in the accident, has already been removed from the Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania.

'Reasonable health'

Mr Gill said rescuers still had to cut horizontally through half a metre of solid rock before they could begin tunnelling a similar distance vertically to reach the men.

He said jackhammers were proving futile on the remaining hard rock, so 30g (1 ounce) of explosive at a time was now being used.

The conditions are extremely difficult," he told reporters.

"Miners report they are dealing with some of the hardest rock they've ever worked with - up to five times harder than concrete."

He said the two miners remained in "reasonable health", but admitted it was not known how long the rescue mission would take.

Hopes had been high that the two men would be free by last Friday.

Rescuers have bored through more than 14m (45 ft) of solid rock, beginning with a giant drill before moving to hand drilling to create less vibrations that might trigger further cave-ins.

The Australian Workers Union national secretary Bill Shorten said rescuers were taking it in turns to lay on their backs in a one metre-wide tunnel and work away at the rock.

Media scramble

Inside their cage the two men worked for six hours overnight on Saturday injecting grout into the rocks surrounding them to improve their stability.

A narrow PVC pipe connects the men to paramedics, through which they have been passed food and drinks.

They have been given iPods to help pass the time, an inflatable mattress, a digital camera and a light exercise programme to ward off health problems.

The pair survived for five days on just one shared cereal bar and by licking water from the rocks around them before rescuers discovered they were alive by using a thermal imaging camera.

The men's plight and the sense of humour they have displayed to emergency workers has gripped Australia, leading to reports of a scramble amongst the country's media to secure exclusive rights to their story when they do emerge.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 979626.stm
 
Trapped Australian miners rescued

Two Australian miners have been rescued from a gold mine after being trapped deep underground for two weeks.
Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, walked out of the lift at the mine in Tasmania and waved to cheering crowds.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the rescue was a "wonderful demonstration of Australian mateship".

He offered condolences to the family of Larry Knight, a third miner who died in the initial accident on 25 April, caused when a tremor dislodged rocks.

Mr Knight is due to be buried on Tuesday.

His colleagues, Mr Webb and Mr Russell, were trapped in a tiny cage when the tremor struck. Rescuers took a week to bring them out, drilling through hard rock, often by hand.

Residents of the town of Beaconsfield gathered at the gates of the mine as news of the rescue began to emerge.

The mine's siren sounded and the town's church bell pealed in celebration.

Mr Webb and Mr Russell, wearing mining helmets and yellow jackets, walked out of the mine to a large board and shifted their name cards from red to green to signal they had finished their shift.

THE TRAPPED MINERS

Todd Russell: 34, married with three children
Wanted paramedics to stop off at fast-food joint after rescue
Asked for newspaper to scan for other jobs and overtime pay [ :D ]

Brant Webb: 37, married to childhood sweetheart
Also has three children, including teenage twins
Both men determined to walk out of the rescue tunnel

They then waved to the crowds and hugged family and friends before being taken by ambulance to hospital for medical checks.

"They're amazing," said mine manager Matthew Gill, who is also a close friend of the two.

"I said welcome and we hugged."

He said the delicate rescue operation had involved keeping the men horizontal for as long as possible in case they were injured. They were then pulled to safety through a vertical tunnel.

"I think the people responsible for the rescue were breaking new ground, but the difficult thing was breaking hard rock," Paul James Reynolds of the Tasmanian emergency services told the BBC.

Sense of humour

Mr Russell and Mr Webb survived for five days on just one shared cereal bar and by licking water from the rocks around them, before rescuers discovered they were alive by using a thermal imaging camera.

The painstaking and dangerous operation to free them then began as rescuers ground through rock described as five times as hard as concrete.

The men were given food and water through a small plastic pipe. Rescuers also managed to get iPods to them to help pass the time.

The men's plight and the sense of humour they displayed to emergency workers gripped Australia, leading to reports of a media scramble to secure exclusive rights to their story.

"The elation is unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable,'' onlooker Diane Alexander told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

"The great escape is over," union official Bill Shorten told Nine Network television."

"A giant rock of pressure has been taken off these families."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 752427.stm
 
'Mum, I'm in a hole lot of trouble'... boy, 9, trapped in pipe underground for three hours
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:41 PM on 17th June 2010

A terrified schoolboy was stuck down a narrow 10ft drainage pipe for nearly three hours - and was only saved when a neighbour heard him sobbing.

Nine-year-old Arron Walsh climbed on the pipe before plummeting feet first more than three metres down the tube, which is located on grassland next to a housing estate in Llandyrnog, Denbighshire.
Unable to move he was trapped underground in the foot-wide pipe where he desperately pleaded for help on Tuesday evening.

But it was only two hours later the alert was raised when pub landlady Hilary Wilcox heard him crying from the upstairs window of her house.
Hilary and her partner Merfyn Parry raced out to try and help the schoolboy and attempted to use a rope to lift him from the pipe.

But as he was stuck tight Aaron was unable to grip the rope and remained trapped until firefighters arrived.
They used handsaws to cut away part of the pipe that was above ground level and were then able to pull Arron to safety, where he was hugged by his relieved mum Karen Walsh, 35.

Ms Wilcox, who runs the White Horse and Golden Lion in Llandyrnog with Mr Parry and her sister, said: 'I just went upstairs to get my phone charger when I heard a child crying. I went out to see where it was coming from and called out.'

Arron was able to call out that he was trapped and Ms Wilcox and Mr Parry rushed to the overgrown area, which is earmarked as a play park for the new Parc Tyn Llan housing development.

Mr Parry, who captured the ordeal on his mobile phone, said: 'We found him trapped at the bottom of the pipe, he was at least three metres down. He was very distressed down there and the first thing we tried to do was calm him down.
'We put a rope down there so that he could grip it and get pulled out but it was such a tight space that I think his arms just couldn't grab it.

'The fire service were called, we just kept trying to talk to him down there to keep his mind off what was happening and just try and cheer him up.'
Arron's mum, who lives on the Maes Clwyd estate in the village, arrived and also talked to her son down the pipe.

The fire service were called at 9.21pm and a crew from Denbigh and the technical rescue unit from Wrexham were swiftly on the scene.

They had freed Arron by 9.41pm, nearly three hours after he fell into the pipe. Ms Wilcox said: 'Thank God he was heard because he could have been trapped down there all night if we hadn't heard him.'

The land is understood to be part of the Parc Tyn Llan housing estate built by Wraysbury Homes Limited.
Today the pipe had been covered over by a large concrete slab. No one from Wraysbury Homes was available for comment.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0rCWOoZHX
 
Miners trapped in Chile mine for 17 days are alive

Thirty-three miners who have been trapped underground in a Chilean mine for the past 17 days are all alive, President Sebastian Pinera has said.

Rescuers heard hammering noises when they sent a new probe into the mine.

When the probe came back it had a note tied to it saying: "All 33 of us are fine in the shelter."

The men were working at a depth of around 700m (2,300ft) at the San Jose mine, near the city of Copiapo, when the rock above them collapsed.

Until Sunday, there had been no word from the miners and hopes for their survival had all but faded.

But it could take several months to drill a rescue shaft large enough to rescue the men. :shock:

Mr Pinera was at the mine on Sunday when he announced the breakthrough. Brandishing the miners' note for TV cameras he hailed the news saying:

"It will take months to get them out. It will take time, but it doesn't matter how long it takes, to have a happy ending."

President Pinera said he had seen footage of the men waving at a camera inserted into their shelter through a small tube.

"They got close to the camera and we could see their eyes, their joy," he said.

The miners are reported to be 4.5 miles (7km) inside the gold and copper mine and about 700m vertically underground.

They have been trapped since 5 August when the main access tunnel collapsed.

According to Reuters news agency, the authorities said the men are in a mine shaft shelter about the size of a small flat and have limited amounts of food.

Rescuers plan to send narrow plastic tubes down the borehole with food, hydration gels and communications equipment, including cameras and microphones.

However, the chief engineer in charge of the rescue operation, Andres Sougarret, has warned that it will take at least four months and more powerful digging equipment to reach the men.

"A shaft 66 cm (26 inches) in diameter will take at least 120 days," he said.

On Saturday relatives of the trapped men had accused the authorities of not doing enough to reach the men.

One of their complaints was that officials had so far insisted on using probes to locate the miners, rather than digging tunnels through which they could be rescued.

Many of the trapped men's relatives have been camped outside the mine since the tunnel collapse occurred.

There were jubilant scenes as the news that contact had been made broke.

"We never, never lost faith. We knew they were there, and that they would be rescued," one relative, Eduardo Hurtado, said.

"For the first time, I'll be able to sleep peacefully," said the daughter of Mario Gomez, one of the trapped miners.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11054376
 
'Mine shaft' opens under toddler in Derbyshire garden

A two-year-old boy fell into an eight-foot (2.4m) deep hole which suddenly opened up in the garden of his family's south Derbyshire home.

At 0945 BST, fire crews went to Newhall near Swadlincote to free the boy's father, who got trapped after jumping in to rescue his son. Both were unhurt.

The brigade said the hole, thought to be an old mine shaft, was about six-feet (1.8m) wide.

The Coal Authority has been informed and is now dealing with the incident.

Fire crews used a ladder to rescue the man and both he and his son were checked over by ambulance service staff.

The Coal Authority sent mine rescue staff and a fencing crew to make the area safe.

Swadlincote is a former coal mining town and past industries there include brick-making and the manufacture of clay products.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-de ... e-11139180
 
Do we have a Chilean miners thread? Can't see one anywhere. Very intriguing story and what a plight! Four months trapped underground. Sounds terrible but my immediate thought is how many of them won't make it out alive.

My second thought is will the movie rights be sold before they get to the surface?
 
McAvennie_ said:
Do we have a Chilean miners thread? ... will the movie rights be sold before they get to the surface?
The speed things go in the movie world these days, they'll get out just in time to buy the DVD...

As you say, McA, a really bizarre story, and one for which we can only hope for a speedy and happy resolution.
 
Syphoned from the 'Underground' thread...

My first reaction to this when hearing they would be trapped for four months was whether the film rights would be sold before they got out? Can see Benicio Del Toro in the lead...

Secondly, have to confess to morbid thoughts that not all of them are going to make it out alive. Maybe that is just the Hollywood cliche of one loose cannon cracking up but 4 months trapped together down there... would be very hard not to go stir crazy.
 
Reminds me of that Peter Sellers film The Blockhouse where a group of men were trapped in a bunker for six years during WW2. Supposed to be based on a true story, though I've never seen it mentioned anywhere else.

In the film, they had enough food and water for their ordeal, but not enough candles, so when the lights went out for good it was about four years until they saw anything again and were rescued. With any luck this won't happen to these miners.
 
gncxx said:
Reminds me of that Peter Sellers film The Blockhouse where a group of men were trapped in a bunker for six years during WW2. Supposed to be based on a true story, though I've never seen it mentioned anywhere else.

In the film, they had enough food and water for their ordeal, but not enough candles, so when the lights went out for good it was about four years until they saw anything again and were rescued. With any luck this won't happen to these miners.

Sounds like a pleasant film. :D
 
According to Wikipedia on the subject
The book and film appear to have been inspired by a possibly true story: on June 25, 1951, Time magazine reported that two German soldiers claimed to have been trapped for six years in an underground storehouse in Babie Do?y, Poland.

So, inspired, rather than based on a true story. An interesting idea for a film, anyway.
 
Anome_ said:
According to Wikipedia on the subject
The book and film appear to have been inspired by a possibly true story: on June 25, 1951, Time magazine reported that two German soldiers claimed to have been trapped for six years in an underground storehouse in Babie Do?y, Poland.

So, inspired, rather than based on a true story. An interesting idea for a film, anyway.

So it might be true, eh? It is an interesting film, but not exactly a barrel of laughs as you can imagine.
 
The cannibals are here!

Chile miners get support from 'Alive' crash survivors
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11190456

Andes plane crash survivors Ramon Sabella, Gustavo Zerbino and Pedro Algorta pose with relatives of the trapped Chilean miners The plane crash survivors say they are confident the rescue effort will succeed

Miners trapped deep underground in Chile have been contacted by four survivors of a famous 1972 plane crash in the Andes mountains.

Speaking to the 33 miners on video link, the four Uruguayan survivors said they brought a message of hope to the miners and their families.

They were among a group of 16 who endured extreme conditions for 72 days before being rescued in Chile.

Chile's Trapped Miners

* Rescue operation
* Underground refuge
* Conversation of hope
* Family's diary

The miners have now been stuck 2,300ft (700m) underground for a month.

They must now wait two to four months for engineers to drill an escape shaft.
'They will survive'

The Uruguayan survivors met relatives of the trapped miners at the San Jose mine before speaking to the miners via video.

They said they had come to show their solidarity with the miners, as will as to express their thanks to Chile for rescuing them 38 years ago.

And they said they were confident the miners would come out alive.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

It is proof that man can survive the most difficult situations and they will survive”

End Quote Pedro Algorta Plane crash survivor

"In the same way we were able to get off the mountain and lead normal lives, they too will get out and lead fantastic lives," said Pedro Algorta, one of the plane crash survivors.

"Look at us, 38 years after we crashed, 16 of us who were rescued are still alive. It is proof that man can survive the most difficult situations and they will survive. The worst is already over. "
Extreme ordeal

The four Uruguayans were flying to the Chilean capital Santiago in 1972 to play a rugby match when their plane crashed high in the Andes mountains.

Twelve of the 45 people on board died in the crash and 17 died later.

But 16 survived for 72 days lost in the snow at 9,800ft (3000m) above sea level before two walked out and found help.

Some of them were forced to eat the flesh of their dead companions to stay alive.

Their ordeal inspired a best-selling book and the 1993 Hollywood film, "Alive."

Relatives of the miners welcomed their gesture of support.

"They fought so hard to save their lives," said Maria Segovia, sister of the trapped miner Dario Segovia.

"Seeing them makes my heart so happy."
'Plan C'

The operation to drill a rescue shaft at the mine, near Copiapo, has penetrated more than 40m (130ft) deep since it began on Monday.
Strata 950 drill The Strata 950 drill is the first of three which could possibly rescue the trapped workers

Meanwhile, two alternative rescue plans are in progress, according to Andres Sougarret, the engineer in charge of the rescue.

A second, faster drill that could aid the men's rescue arrived at the site on Friday and could begin work on Sunday, said Mr Sougarret.

The T-130 excavator will be deployed initially to enlarge the supply chute to allow larger objects to be sent down to the 33 men.

"What's more, we've got a third plan, called plan C, consisting of an oil drilling machine that will require a platform the size of a football pitch," said Mr Sougarret.

"It will be working before 18 September (Chile's Independence Day)."
 
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