While exact figures are not available at this time, the total number of victims in this latest mining disaster will surpass the total from any mining accident in history. Subsurface PII mines are known to stretch for miles in the underground economy south of San Francisco and beyond, where large veins of gold made up of the personally identifiable information (PII) of every user of a phone, computer or tablet are relentlessly excavated by skilled data miners.

“It's hard to get a handle on just how many people are trapped along with the sources of PII gold” said a OSMHA official at the scene. “The miners built a whole economy by breaking into your information home, stealing your personal information and putting it on their balance sheet as a money-making asset. As it starts to sink in just what they've been up to, people feel trapped.” Much of that feeling, he noted, “is exacerbated by earlier pronouncements about doing no evil.”

“Recent events have made the public aware of the immense scale of the mines” said a mining industry analyst, noting that mine employees have been surprised to to see the intensity of the public’s reaction to the disaster. “I’m just doing my job. Following instructions from above.” said one miner. “That’s the way it works in Silibandia” the miner added, referring to the nascent digital nation that consists of Silicon Valley plus the global broadband and media industries. “Silibandia traps us not only with generous compensation but with a complex network of NDAs, noncompetes, and especially nondisparagement agreements. We might as well be working for one of Putin’s TV networks.”

Not all of those working in Silibandia’s mines have remained trapped, however. Some, such as Frances Haugen, have managed to escape.

OSMHA (Occupational Safety and Mental Health Action) has provided guidance for trapped miners at https://authentiverse.net/osmha