National Geographic Unveils Trailer for "Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time"

More than 15 years after 33 miners became trapped nearly half a mile beneath the surface of Chile’s Atacama Desert, National Geographic is taking viewers back underground for a new look at one of the most extraordinary rescue operations in modern history.

What’s Happening:

National Geographic has released the official trailer for Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time, a three-part documentary series chronicling the 2010 disaster at the San José copper-gold mine and the unprecedented international effort to bring every trapped miner home alive.
From the Emmy Award-winning team at Blast Films, the new series will explore the 69-day ordeal from the perspectives of the miners, their families, and the rescuers who worked around the clock to find a way to reach them. Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time premieres September 25 at 8 p.m. EDT on National Geographic, with all three episodes streaming the following day on Disney+ and Hulu.
The series promises to offer viewers an intimate look at what happened both above and below ground, including never-before-seen cell phone footage recorded by the miners themselves while they were trapped underground. The footage provides a rare firsthand perspective on the conditions, uncertainty, and determination that defined their 69 days beneath the desert.
The documentary also features interviews with survivors, family members and rescuers, including six of the miners making their first international documentary appearances. Their accounts help reconstruct the disaster from the initial collapse through the painstaking rescue operation and its aftermath.
The San José mine collapsed on August 5, 2010, sealing 33 miners underground. For 17 days, there was no confirmation that anyone had survived, leaving families and officials facing the possibility that the miners had perished.
Then came an extraordinary discovery: all 33 men were alive.
What followed was a race against time that would ultimately attract expertise from Chile and around the world. Engineers, drillers, and rescue specialists worked on multiple strategies to reach the miners, while the men underground were forced to establish their own systems for food, water, communication and survival as they waited.
The documentary follows how that improvised order developed inside the mine while rescuers above ground attempted an engineering feat that had never been successfully accomplished on that scale. The operation ultimately centered around the drilling of a narrow rescue shaft and the development of a capsule capable of bringing the miners one by one back to the surface.
The world watched as the rescue operation reached its dramatic conclusion. When the first miner emerged from the ground in the rescue capsule, an estimated one billion people around the globe were watching the historic moment unfold, making it one of the largest live television audiences ever recorded.
Among those featured in the series is Jeff Kofman, who was ABC's international correspondent at the time and became the first international journalist on the scene. Kofman reported from Chile as the rescue unfolded and witnessed the unprecedented global media attention surrounding the trapped miners.
Beyond the rescue itself, Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time will also examine what happened after the miners returned to the surface. Their story quickly became an international sensation, bringing fame and opportunities but also lasting personal consequences for many of the men.
The series is the latest installment in National Geographic’s Emmy-winning Race Against Time documentary franchise. Previous installments include Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time, which won the Critics' Choice Documentary Award for Best Historical Documentary, and Tsunami: Race Against Time, which received the Emmy for Outstanding Historical Documentary.
With its combination of firsthand testimony, archival material, and previously unseen footage from inside the mine, the new series aims to revisit the Chilean mine rescue from the perspective of those who experienced it firsthand.
Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time is produced by Blast Films for National Geographic. Tanya Winston, Shona Thompson and Danny Horan executive produce for Blast Films, with Luke Sewell serving as series editor. Chloe Campbell and James Parris direct.
For National Geographic, Tom McDonald is executive vice president of Content, Bengt Anderson is senior vice president of Unscripted Production and Development, and Carolyn Payne serves as executive producer.

Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time premieres September 25 at 8 p.m. EDT on National Geographic and will stream all three episodes the following day on Disney+ and Hulu.

More National Geographic News:

What We're Covering

Fun & Games

National Geographic Unveils Trailer for "Chilean Mine Rescue: Race Against Time"

Thank You!