I don't think there's be much likelihood of anyone from these irony soaked islands taking that "What took you guys so long?" as anything but a joke (possibly intended also as a comment on how remarkably fast the rescue work was done.)

But there are some people out in the cyberworld who might have a problem picking that up - after all it didn't come with an emoticon attached. So I thought it a good idea to mark it up.

Technology- I suppose they could have some kind of echo sounding device that would tell you when there was a water filled cavern on the other site of a wall. I suspect that in the old days, doing it with a pick and shovel, a canny miner would have very likely been able to tell by the sound - but the modern equipment would drown that out. So the modern technology could well be a key element in causing the disaster, as well as in the rescue.

But if Joe Jashienski is right, the essential thing was the greed of a mine owner, as so often before.