Only in America

[Fred Elliot]

Midnight Wednesday

Mine owner : "we have found the miners and they are all alive and well !".......(cue scenes of mass jubilation from the trapped miners families)


3 am Thursday

Mine owner : "oops.......sorry, my mistake !.........they were all dead after all ! "

WANKERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nomoreheroes]

Hmmm. Not quite as simple as that, but the point about it not handled well is true.

NMH

[oxford_fan]

i flicked onto cnn/fox the other day and saw them trying to rescue them. what actually happened then?

[Fred Elliot]

1 survivor ........ critical

A press release was issued at midnight saying they had found them and they were all alive and well.

This was retracted approx 2 hours later with an apology and fresh statement saying that all but one were dead.

As you can imagine there is fucking uproar !

[oxford_fan]

why did the say everyone was alive?

[Danjackson10]

mix up with the figures, got it the wrong way round! :wall:

[Fred Elliot]

yes they did Oxfan !

Typical Yanks :evil:

[Batch]

As i understand it some people working in the communication centre missheard a transmission from the rescue team and (unofficially) told the relatives.  The wrong news was never oficially delivered.

Pretty terrible for everyone involved whatever.

[Fred Elliot]

They actually printed the front page of the local rag at midnight saying that the rescue was sucessful.

It must have been a Rupert Murdoch publication

[oxford_fan]

i just read all the bbc stuff on it, what a bunch of nobbers.

only in america.

[Nomoreheroes]

What happened was..(As Jethro might say)...was that the rescuers (don't picture two little white mice here) managed to get part way into the tunnel and found that the fellas had taken their lunch boxes with them from the cart (picture Indiana Jones here) that they were riding into the pit. As everyone knows, Americans love their food, so the rescuers communicating the fact that the lunchboxes were missing, were thought to be saying 'Its alright the lads are alive and have taken their sarnies for a picnic further into the mine'. The communications officer, in true American style, put a slightly better spin on the news. ie Missing lunch boxes = all alive. The media (most notibly US Today) then took this information and put it on the front pages of their early editions in some parts. All the families then went to church to praise the Lord for sparing the miners and presumably providing them with a decent meal. Then, when the rescuers eventually found the lads they found 11 dead and 1 critically ill due to being poisoned by toxic gases. The families came out of church in a gleeful state and were told 'One step forward all those whos loved ones are still alive in the pit - Not so fast the families of these 11 dead blokes !' - Or words to that effect that were equally as blunt............So, upon reflection, I say..I say..I say (a la Foghorn Leghorn)... Fred Elliot was correct !

NMH (or is that NMMiners ?)