Trapped South American Miners Get PSPs to Pass the Time

To give them hope, or to at least keep them occupied as they wait to be dug out, trapped miners in Chile have been given PlayStation Portables, according to MSN International. Copiapó, Chile - a provincial capital situated on the west coast of South America's Andes Mountain range - has been the focus of the international media as the story of miners wait for a rescue which some say could be two to three months away.

The trapped miners include 1 Bolivian and 32 Chileans, who are getting along well despite their current situation, are doing their best to keep hope alive as rescue crews lower food and supplies via bore holes that are described as "roughly the width of a grapefruit."

The PSPs were given to "help preserve their mental health" during the long wait for a rescue tunnel to be drilled and to give them a means to escape their current plight. The PSPs were delivered via the small cups that are used to shuttle supplies to the men down the mine shaft. A power supply was also lowered down to the men because the average battery life of a PSP is a mere 6 hours.

No word on whether Sony donated the PSPs or if they came from somewhere else, but at least someone is thinking of ways to keep these men occupied while they hunker down for a long wait as the rescue effort slowly unfolds.

Source: Daily Tech, image credit