xtineebee

The news this morning that the earlier reports of finding 12 trapped miners *alive* after 40 hours were, in fact, a horrible miscommunication was shocking. I went to bed last night thinking "now that is about as close to a true miracle as you can get", probably like most people who heard the inital report that they were alive, only to be horrified this morning when I learned of the mistake. The fact that one of those men is actually alive is miraculous in and of itself, but I just physically ache thinking of what the families are experiencing. And I also feel deeply for the head of the mining company - he was trapped in a horrific situation himself, when he learned of the mistake and then had to correct the original reports.

This is why formal, controlled communications are *so important* in situations like this - the story seems to be that a conversation was overheard, misinterpreted, and then prematurly communicated to the families that their loved ones had been found alive. They had been found, but the teams were checking their vitals. Someone seemed to think that this was code for "they must be alive if they are checking their viatls". An easy misunderstanding if what you are praying for is that these men are alive - you interpret the 'message' as you wish it to be. It is all heartbreaking.