Man Behind Chilean Miners’ Rescue to Speak in St. Cloud [AUDIO]

ST. CLOUD - It was just a little over a year ago that the whole world watched as 33 Chilean miners were rescued from deep below the earth's surface.  A man with ties to St. Joseph is responsible for heading-up the rescue effort.  Now, he's coming to St. Cloud to talk about how he did it.

Bystanders watched the 33 miners rise the the surface, one-by-one on October 13th of last year.  The miners spent a record 69 days in the hot, humid bowels of the collapsed mine.

However, a man by the name of Greg Hall who spear-headed the rescue effort, wasn't in the crowd.  He owns a company in Chile that specializes in hard rock drilling.  They were called in immediately after the collapse to help locate the men.  For the first 17-days it was believed there were no survivors.  But, once the men were found, Hall's company's job was considered to be done and they were sent home.  However, Hall knew he had to do more.

Hall started putting together the equipment and the engineers that designed that now famous metal cage that carried the miners to safety.  Once they knew they had the technology to do the job, they promised the Chilean government to get the men out in six weeks.

Thousands of people were on site that day watching and waiting, but Hall and his men were not among them.  Hall says, like most everyone else, he watched with his wife on TV.

He says the fact that all 33 men were able to be rescued alive is truly a miracle.

YouTube video from the Associated Press of the first miner rising to the surface:

Besides owning companies in Chile in Texas, Hall also owns DSI-American Manufacturing in St. Joseph.  Since he bought the company in 1999, they've grown from five employees to 40.

You can learn more about Hall and the Chilean miners' rescue next Thursday, including seeing some of his private videos and photos.  He'll be speaking at the 33rd annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast.  It's at 6:45 a.m. the at River's Edge Convention Center.

Resources
For more information about the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast, including how to order tickets, check out the Christian Business Men's website.