Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said on Thursday (October 14) that, although all the miners were saved, those responsible for the accident could not go unpunished.

Pinera said the mine accident was a big lesson for both the government and the public, and the government and judiciary would prosecute those responsible.

The government would soon promulgate new measures on labour safety, requiring such industries as mining, construction, transport, agriculture and fisheries to create conditions that ensured work safety, he said.

Any companies failing to meet the safety standards would be ordered to stop their business operations, he said.

The president added that the rescue operation had cost US$10 million to 20 million and two-thirds of the expense came from the Chilean government and the state-run companies.

The San Jose gold and copper mine, located in the desert in northern Chile, collapsed on Aug. 5, trapping 33 miners some 700m underground.

Xinhua