News > Special safety shoes for trapped miners in Chile

~ Mario sends Bata shoe as a kiss ~ Mario, come get your kiss. This was how the headline read in the Toronto Star on Wednesday, 13 October, mere hours before the 33 Chilean miners would see the light of day again after being trapped underground for over two months. Below this headline was a photo of Lily Ramirez, waiting in Camp Hope until she could hold her husband Mario Gomez in her arms again. Lily showed the Bata inner sock which her Mario had sent up to the surface via the narrow communication shaft. A moving souvenir, sent as a down-payment on that long-awaited kiss. Personal protective equipment For 69 days, the world held its breath, following the desperate attempts to free the trapped miners from their perilous position, at a depth of 624 metres in the San José gold and copper mine. While rescue workers worked hard to drill a shaft through which the men could be brought to the surface, others did everything in their power to make the miners’ underground stay as ‘liveable’ as possible. Special overalls were developed to protect Mario and his co-workers from the cold and damp conditions. Sunglasses, to protect their eyes for the moment they would return to the bright daylight. Everything was sent down through the narrow communication shaft. But how do you get a shoe through a tube that is no more than a few centimetres in diameter? Shoes through narrow shaft Once Bata Industrials (also represented in Chile) saw along with the rest of the world on August 22nd how the 33 miners were still alive, the R&D department sprung into action. In their cold and damp quarters deep under the ground, on an uneven rocky surface, the crouching, kneeling and crawling men were suffering from painful feet. Bata Industrials knows better than anyone what type of shoe is right for a situation like that one. However, the only way to get a modified safety shoe through the narrow shaft down to the men was to produce this in individual components. And it had to be done in a way that the men would be able to ‘assemble’ them easily themselves. Inner sock, shoe, inlay sole The solution was finally found in a shoe that consists of three parts. A breathable inner sock with a protective steel toecap. A leather shoe with a soft rubber sole which could be folded easily. And a comfortable inlay sole. Within a short period of time, the rolled-up packages were ready to be sent down the tube. Here you are, miners. Hold on, we’re coming! Bata Industrials is proud and honoured to have been able to make a contribution to this heroic rescue effort. But most of all, Bata is happy that Mario was finally able to come get his kiss!