Workers operate Plan C drill, the third option conceived to rescue the 33 miners trapped at the San... 
(AP)
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In general, the miners are wearing T-shirts and shorts, socks and heavy work boots. The rescue team is thinking of sending down running shoes so the men can exercise at least an hour a day, but soon they'll be moving rock in any case, and the heat remains oppressive.
Although there are no microwave ovens down below, the mine is so warm that the plastic-wrapped meals retain their heat well and the men need only unwrap them. They dine with plates and silverware that were already in the refuge, as well as flexible plastic plates that have been sent down.
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Each miner is getting about 2,200 calories a day, the average necessary for an adult to maintain their weight, said Dr. Jose Diaz. His team sent down a scale similar to that used in a fish market to weigh the men, using a harness they added down below. The results suggest the men have regained body mass after a near-starvation diet the first 17 days, Diaz said.
The rescue team reluctantly agreed to the requests from some men for cigarettes, but alcohol was ruled out, part of an overall routine designed to keep the men focused.
While Iturra's team of psychologists talks with the miners at least twice a day, the men know their survival ultimately depends on each other.
So in addition to twice-daily prayer sessions, they have a kind of group therapy — which the miners call "showing their cards" — in which they meet to discuss disagreements, plans and achievements.
Just what those disagreements have been, if any, has not been made public.
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Associated Press Writer Frank Bajak in Bogota, Colombia contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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