News @ Noon: New Book Tells The Story Of Trapped Chilean Miners [AUDIO]

UNDATED - Today (Tuesday) on the News @ Noon Show on WJON we heard from the author of a new book that tells the story of 33 miners who were trapped below the earth's surface for a record breaking 69 days.

Hector Tobar is the author of "Deep Down Dark", which is the story of the mine collapse that happened in August 2010 outside of Copiapo, Chile.  The 33 miners agreed to only tell their story collectively, and Tobar is the person they chose to tell their story to.

Tobar says it's an amazing story considering their lack of food, as they were trapped 2,100 feet below the earth's surface.

Tobar says, after 17 days, a drill broke through. But it was another 52 days before they were rescued. He says they were able to have contact with the outside world through a phone line, a fiber optic line, and newspapers. He says when they realized that they had become famous they started to turn on each other.

About a dozen of the men got retirement benefits from the Chilean government. They all were treated like celebrities and national heroes for about a year after the incident. However, eventually they started to struggle because the fame didn't last, and they didn't make the money they thought they were going to.

Some of the men have returned to mining underground again. Others have spent years in therapy.

Listen to an expert of the audio book: