Copiapo, Chile (CNN) -- Crews have begun boring a rescue shaft to reach the 33 miners who have been trapped underground in Chile for more than three weeks, according to CNN Chile.
The effort to drill through more than 2,300 feet (700 meters) of rock and safely extract the workers could take three to four months, officials said.
The miners have been stuck in the desert copper-and-gold mine since an August 5 cave-in and are surviving on supplies funneled to them from above ground through three bore holes, each about four inches in diameter.
Rescue officials have said they plan to send down food over the next few days. There are also plans to send down more beds, which is a slow process, said Ximena Mata, the Chilean government's point person.
Until now, the men living in what they have dubbed "Refuge 33" have been surviving on liquids. CNN
