THE Chilean mine where 33 men are trapped should not have been allowed to reopen after fatal accidents forced its closure, say officials and miners.

Alejandro Garcia-Huidobro, chairman of the parliamentary committee investigating the tunnel collapse, has lent his support to widespread allegations of corruption and bribery surrounding the reopening in 2008 of the San Jose mine in Chile's Atacama desert.

A 40-tonne drill is scheduled to begin excavating an escape chute for the stranded miners today. However, The Times has been told that the men should never have been working in a mine that had not passed the necessary safety inspections.

San Esteban Primera lost its licence to operate the mine in 2007 after a spate of accidents in which 16 people died. A year later, a junior official inside Sernageomin, the mining regulator, formally cleared the company, according to Alejandro Vio, former head of Sernageomin. Mr Vio told a parliamentary hearing that work restarted at the mine without following the established procedure or carrying out inspections.

The Mayor of Caldera, Brunilda Gonzalez, claimed that the failure of Sernageomin to follow procedure had been motivated by corruption. “There has been a bribe,” she said. “There has been influence-peddling and negligence on the part of the state and public officials.”

Mr Garcia-Huidobro, asked about these allegations in a radio interview on Saturday, said that “all MPs are aware that there was something strange”. He added: “This is the only mine we have investigated that opened despite irregularities, which means pressure had been applied.”

Miners who have worked at San Jose told The Times that the owners knew the facility was unsafe. Philippe Sanchez, 51, who worked there between 1987 and 1999 and whose nephew Jimmy is among those trapped, said: “It is one of the worst mines in the area. It has always been dangerous. There are accidents all the time and when you are hurt, you had better not complain or you will be sacked - there is a culture of silence.”

Mario Gomez, 63, another of the trapped miners, organised a delegation of workers to confront managers over safety concerns earlier this year.

Marcelo Kemeny and Alejandro Bohn, who own San Esteban Primera, refused to attend parliamentary hearings last week. But Hernan Tuane, the company's lawyer, welcomed the investigation into alleged corruption. “We are certain that authorities and the company committed no irregularities in the reopening process,” he said.

Engineers at the site have completed the construction of the Strata 950 borer, which will create a 700m pilot hole, at the rate of 20m a day, to reach the miners. President Pinera has asked the engineers to continue drawing up alternative plans that could be completed more quickly.

Source: The Australian