The untold story of how the buried Chilean miners survived | New York Post The untold story of how the buried Chilean miners survived Modal Trigger After 17 days, a small hole finally reached the miners, who gave the thumbs up to the rescuers above. AP Jorge Galleguillos, a veteran miner at the San José Mine in Chile’s Atacama Desert, was working 2,000 feet below the Earth’s surface when he saw what he thought was a butterfly. His co-worker, Franklin Lobos, disagreed. “It was white rock,” he said, referring to the “translucent, milky quartz that glimmers when it catches the light.” It was also a harbinger. “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free” by Héctor Tobar (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Because as they drove not 65 feet (20 meters) past that spot, that one falling rock became “a massive explosion,” and the area around them “filled with dust.” Unknown to them, this was but one part of an incredible collapse occurring throughout the mine.

The men, along with 31 others, were about to undergo an ordeal the likes of which few suffer, and fewer survive. The next time they saw daylight, they would be global heroes, and their lives would never be same. The collapse of the San José Mine on Aug. 5, 2010, became international news, as 33 men were trapped underground for 69 days, battling starvation and hopelessness as the world waited anxiously for news of their rescue. Héctor Tobar, author of the new book “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), was the only journalist given access to the men and their families, and returns with a riveting account of a remarkable disaster. Translation: ‘We’re f—ed’ The 33 men were trapped 2,000 feet beneath the Earth’s surface for 69 days.EPA The San José Mine was more than 100 years old, and a century of “digging and blasting” had all but worn away its internal structure.

The mine was known for “primitive working conditions and perfunctory safety practices,” including escape tunnels that were “useless in an emergency because they lack the ladders necessary for the miners to use them.” On the afternoon of the 5th, the miners heard the explosion, and were enveloped in dust, as the ramps leading to the surface collapsed.

It sounded like “a massive skyscraper was crashing down behind them.” The names of the 33 miners were painted on a rock at the camp where relatives waited for news of the rescue effort.AP “A single block of diorite, as tall as a 45-story building, has broken off from the rest of the mountain and is falling through the layers of the mine … causing a chain reaction as the mountain above it collapses, too.” This piece, the men would later learn, was about 550 feet tall and weighed 770,000 tons — “twice the weight of the Empire State Building.” In the ensuing quake, several men were “knocked off their feet by a blast wave” as “the walls began to shake and stones the size of oranges [began] falling around them.” When the quaking was done, the men found themselves trapped and one miner uttered, “Estamos cagados.” “Loose translation,” writes Tobar, “We’re f—ed.” A quick inspection showed that “all the connections to the surface have been cut: the electricity, the intercom system, the flow of water and compressed air.” The men, not yet knowing the extent or cause of the devastation

 and believing they’d be rescued in a few hours or days at most, retreated to the Refuge, a classroom-size, steel-reinforced safe room that holds provisions meant to feed 25 men for two days.

The inventory of the food included “1 can of salmon, 1 can of peaches, 1 can of peas, 18 cans of tuna, 24 liters of condensed milk (8 of which are spoiled), 93 packages of cookies,” not counting a few that some of the men ate on the sly, “and some expired medicines.” There were also “a mere 10 bottles of water,” although there were thousands of liters keeping the engines of their machinery cool. While dirty, oily and occasionally used for bathing, it was drinkable enough to keep them alive. Smell of the grave In order to ration food, the miners would eat one scoop of tuna fish and two cookies once a day, at noon.AP Food rationing, they soon learned, would be harsh, since, “If each man eats one or two cookies and a spoonful of tuna each day, the provisions might stretch out a week.” A miner named Mario Sepúlveda, one of the leaders throughout the ordeal, would line up “37 plastic cups in rows and spoon one teaspoon of canned fish into each cup, then pour in some water, making a broth. He [then passed] out two cookies to each man.

‘Enjoy your meal,’ he says. ‘This is delicious stuff. Make it last.’ That single meal, at noon, likely contains fewer than 300 calories and is meant to hold them all until the next noon.” The T 130 drilling machine that was used to create an escape holeReuters They’ll soon broaden the menu to include soup they’ll cook, using the industrial water, “in a truck’s air filter from a single can of tuna, with . . . no salt and only a few peas and some motor oil for flavoring.” An overview of the San Jose Mine on Oct. 8, 2010, a week before the miners were rescuedEPA In time, the rumbling of their collective stomachs will grow so loud that, in the echo of the mine, some will mistake it for the sound of the mountain collapsing. Most of the men slept in the Refuge, where, after several days, “the fetid scent begins to gather and cook, transforming the air into a stew of body odor,” leading one miner to later say, “I’ve smelled corpses before, and after a while, it smelled worse than that.” As days pass, a society develops. The men hold daily prayer meetings.

They play checkers using a board made from cardboard, and dominoes one miner created by “pulling apart and cutting up the white plastic frame of the reflective traffic-hazard triangle in his truck.” They occasionally think they hear drilling, but no rescue appears. Sometimes, the humor turns gallows, as when one miner tells the sole Bolivian in the group, “You better hope they come for us. Because if they don’t, since you’re Bolivian, you’ll be the first one we’re going to eat.” Some men (including, reportedly, the joke’s subject) appreciated the levity. Others could not, realizing that if one of them died, they might have to consider such action. Slice of peach for 33 Rescuers workers finally drilled a small hole to the miners after 17 days, but their ordeal was far from over.EPA Above ground, meanwhile, several potential rescuers descended 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) into the mine, only to be stopped by the monolith. Seeing it, one veteran miner wept, knowing that his colleagues were doomed.

Officials also discovered that the building-size slab was still shifting, making “a new collapse possible at any moment.” Mining and drilling experts sought to figure out where they could drill without collapsing the already weakened mountain. In time, drilling experts from around the world would join the effort. Just outside the mine entrance, the miners’ families set up a camp — calling it Camp Esperanza, or “Hope” — where they could stay while awaiting word of their loved ones and keeping pressure on government officials. Chile’s then-President Sebastian Pinera holds up a plastic bag containing a message from the miners that reads, “We are OK in the refuge, the 33 miners” on Aug. 22, 2010.AP For some of the miners, this led to complications. Yonni Barrios, a “paunchy, soft-spoken Romeo,” lived with his girlfriend, except when they were fighting. Then, he stayed with his wife, who lived less than a block away. Both women planted their flags at the camp, and their battle for Barrios’ heart went public.

(The girlfriend won.) “Camp Hope,” the site where more than 2,000 family members, workers and press were stayingAP The story quickly went global, and the Chilean media put the miners’ chances for survival at “less than 2%.” The trapped miners gather together on Oct. 13, 2010, as the rescue mission begins.Reuters After two weeks underground, many of the miners were having trouble walking, and their ribs began sticking through their skin. The sound of daily drilling was by now unmistakable, but the miners had no idea how long rescue would take. They would eventually hear over a dozen drills fail to find their target, disappointments that came to feel like “a second death.” By now, there was just enough food to give each man one cookie every two days. In time, they stretched that out to three days to make the food last longer.

At one point, “a single slice of peach, about the size of a thumb” was found, and meticulously divided into 33 slivers “about the size of a fingernail.” Another time, one of the men experienced temporary blindness, “the first signs of a common side effect of hunger, caused by vitamin-A deficiency.” On day 17, a drill that had been growing louder suddenly stopped, the sound replaced by “a whistle of escaping air” — one of the drills had broken through. The miners ran to see and began banging on it furiously with wrenches “like little kids hitting a piñata.” The men, “laughing and cheering,” celebrated by “passing around a plastic bottle filled with dirty water as if it were champagne.” They tied notes to the drill bit, informing those on the surface that all 33 of them were still alive. After 17 days of hell, the men finally had hope. But the end of their ordeal was still far away.

Animals in a cage While underground, the 33 men made a pact that the rights to their tale would be owned by all of them, in 33 equal parts.AP As food, clean water, a phone line and other supplies were passed down the 4.5-inch hole, the men’s joy was dashed when they learned that getting them to the surface, including finding a way to reach them and bring them up that didn’t risk collapsing the already fragile mine, could take as long as four months. “If they are indeed stuck until Christmas,” writes Tobar, “they will have been trapped underground twice as long as any human being in history.” The Fenix traveled down a hole only 28 inches in diameter to bring up the miners one by one.EPA While the men managed to support each other during their times of dire starvation, there was a greater danger in strong, healthy men dealing with this collective frustration in the pits of hell, and their confrontations grew increasingly heated.

With their fortunes in the hands of the mystery people above, one miner wrote, “Now I know how an animal in captivity feels, always depending on a human hand to feed it.” Above ground, meanwhile, they were becoming international celebrities, as media around the world interviewed their families, and a Chilean millionaire began an effort to raise funds ensuring that all the men were millionaires by the time they reached the surface. (While they all received gifts from many donors, their fortunes never became that grand.) There was also trouble brewing regarding press coverage of individual miners, including the braggings of Sepúlveda, who mentioned in a letter to his family that he was “the absolute leader,” causing bitterness among the men. Sepúlveda also raised suspicions by joking about eating each other, jokes that, as the men’s strength increased, took on a violent edge, leading some to fear for their safety. One of the rescued miners emerges from the Fenix capsule.AP While the surreal nature of knowing they were rich and famous while still trapped underground messed with their heads, they did keep it together in one crucial area, making a pact that the rights to their tale would be owned by all of them, in 33 equal parts.

This pact would lead to some disagreements down the road, but ultimately it would hold. The rescue couldn’t take place through the hole already drilled, but required a new hole 28 inches in diameter. The problems faced in drilling the first hole were now multiplied, since this hole needed to be wide enough for the men to fit through. In time, many nations would send help, including the US, with a special 26,000-pound drill coming from a company in Pennsylvania, and a top American driller participating in the final rescue effort. It was agreed that three separate drilling efforts would proceed simultaneously, in an effort to rescue the men as quickly as possible. Finally, daylight The first miner rescued ascended to the surface a little before midnight on Oct. 12. Twenty-four hours later, all 33 miners were out.Getty Images On Sept. 17, one of the drills broke through to the men via a 17-inch hole, and that was widened over the next several weeks to the required 28 inches. From there, a few days were needed to remove the drill bit from the hole, and then a rescuer was sent down in a tube, dubbed the Fenix, built specially for this purpose.

The first man, Florencio Avalos, began his ascent a little before midnight on Oct. 12. He reached the top around 30 minutes later, met by his family, news cameras from around the world, and the president and first lady of Chile. One of the miners celebrates along with the cheering crowd after stepping out of the Fenix capsule.Getty Images Around 24 hours later, Luis Urzua became the last man to hit the surface. As he did, the 69-day nightmare of the San José Mine officially reached its end. Many of the miners struggled to readjust, feeling withdrawn and suffering flashbacks and nightmares. After darkness fell, Barrios, for one, would sometimes wake “in the middle of the night and put on his old helmet,” just sitting there with his helmet lamp on, suddenly screaming and punching the couch cushions. For several, such as Alex Vega, the cure was surprising. After two years of “emotional suffering” including “nightmares about being buried alive,” Vega realized he needed to “confront this fear” head on — which for him meant returning to the mines.

Every day for a week, he drove 980 feet (300 meters) deep, “wandering about the stone passageways, and then back up and out of those dank caverns and into the sunshine.” His nightmares never returned. All 33 miners rescued from Chile mine - USATODAY.com Enlarge By Jorge Saenz, AP Chile's President Sebastian Pinera, top center, cheers as rescued miner Mario Sepulveda, center, salutes after being rescued from the collapsed San Jose gold and copper mine near Copiapo, Chile, early Wednesday morning. All 33 miners rescued from Chile mine By Victor Herrero, Special for USA TODAY SAN JOSE MINE, Chile  All 33 miners trapped in an underground mine for more than two months in Chile have been rescued. Sometimes almost as quickly as once every half hour, a man climbed into a cage nearly a half-mile underground on Wednesday and made the trip upward. The miners were monitored by video for any sign of panic and were aided by oxygen masks, dark glasses to protect their eyes from unfamiliar light and sweaters for the climate change from subterranean heat to chilly air on the surface.

The emerging miners appeared energetic and healthy, one pounding his fist into the air and another kneeling down in prayer. "I can't believe we are all alive," said Edison Pena, 34, the 12th man to complete the trip and emerge through a manhole-size opening to cheers, bearhugs and back slaps. Pena, who is a fan of Elvis Presley , inspired his comrades to erect a sign deep underground that read, "Edison, you will be greater than Elvis ." GETTING READY: Wives, girlfriends visiting salons On another continent, in Washington, D.C., the scene was just as jubilant as well wishers gathered outside of the Chilean embassy to watch the rescue on a huge TV screen mounted on a trailer. "Last night, here, we had more than 300 people," ambassador Arturo Fermandois said Wednesday from the embassy's driveway. "I never felt a happiness like that ever in my life. We took a champagne, sang the (Chilean) national anthem.

There was an explosion of happiness to be Chilean and we wanted to share that moment with the city and with the country." Earlier, in Chile, as the missile-like rescue container continued its methodical journey plucking the men to safety, Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived at 9.30 a.m. at the San José mine to greet Carlos Mamani, the lone Bolivian miner, who reached the surface around 3 a.m. Morales was greeted by Chilean President Sebastián Piñera. Morales was set to meet with Mamani, 24, who was staying at the medical tent in the rescue area. As it traveled down and up the 2,041-foot escape shaft, the capsule was not rotating as much as officials expected, allowing for faster trips, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said. The rescues came as quickly as 39 minutes apart. The miners have survived longer trapped underground than anyone on record. For 17 days after 700,000 tons of rock collapsed Aug. 5 and sealed the men in the lower reaches of the mine, no one knew whether they were alive.

Manalich told a news conference after eight miners were rescued that all of them were in good health, and none has required any special medication, not even the diabetic among them. The joyful rescue effort began when Florencio Avalos surfaced at 12:10 a.m.Wednesday local time. He climbed out of the rescue capsule and was immediately embraced by rescue workers and others, as bystanders cheered and clapped. As he exited the rescue device, his young son sobbed, and he received a bracing bearhug from Pinera. Avalos smiled widely as he hugged rescuers, then Pinera, as his wife, two sons and father looked on. His 7-year-old son Bairo sobbed, as did Chile's first lady, Cecilia Morel. Avalos was then escorted into a medical triage center for the first of a battery of tests. "I can't describe the joy we all are feeling right now," Florencio's brother Wilson Avalos said. "We also knew that Florencio would make it out of the mine.

He looked calm and confident, exactly the way he is." Avalos, 31, the second-in-command of the miners, was chosen to be first because he was in the best condition. He has been so shy that he volunteered to handle the camera rescuers sent down, so he wouldn't have to appear on the videos that the miners sent up. "I know it was fast, but it felt like it took forever," said the miner's father, Alfonso Avalos. The family's ordeal wasn't over: Florencio's brother Renan awaited rescue. "Second time around, it gets a little bit easier; we are much less tense," the elder Avalos said. Shortly after Avalos became the first miner to step into the cold night in the Atacama desert , Pinera thanked God, the rescuers and the miners' strength for the successful start of the final rescue operation. "It may not be a surprise that Florencio Avalos came back to us on the 13th day of the 10th month of the 10th year of the decade ... which sums 33," Pinera said.

Mario Sepulveda, who became known to millions of Chileans for being the "host" of the first video the miners shot underground and that was broadcast around the world, was the second miner who was lifted out. He jubilantly hugged his wife, Pinera and rescuers, handing out souvenir rocks from his undergound home to the laughing rescuers. "I think I had extraordinary luck. I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God," said Sepulveda, as he awaited the air force helicopter ride to a nearby hospital where all the miners were to spend 48 hours under medical observation. Sepulveda has been the most "media-friendly" miner, performing a traditional dance known as Cueca for Chile's Independence Day on Sept. 18. His dance was filmed and broadcast in Chilean media. He turned 40 inside the mine Oct. 4. The third miner to be rescued was Juan Illanes, 51, who is a married former soldier who urged his fellow miners to be disciplined and organized while stuck a half-mile underground. He hugged his wife and then climbed onto his cot, smiling broadly as he was wheeled away.

Mamani, the lone Bolivian in the group, was the fourth miner to be rescued. Mamani was greeted by his wife, Veronica, with a hug and kiss that knocked off her white hard hat as Chile's president and first lady held small Bolivian flags. Mamani gestured with both forefingers at the Chilean flag on his T-shirt and shouted, "Gracias, Chile!" before a round of backslapping with rescuers. The youngest miner, 19-year-old Jimmy Sanchez, came up fifth. Osman Isidro Araya came out sixth, and Jose Ojeda, who turned 47 while the miners were trapped on Monday, was seventh. The oldest miner, 63-year-old Mario Gomez , was the ninth miner to reach the surface, just after 8 a.m. local time. After Sanchez got to the surface, the rescuers paused to lubricate the spring-loaded wheels that give the 13-foot-tall capsule a smooth ride through the hard-rock shaft. Then they brought up the sixth and seventh.

As dawn broke over the rock-strewn moonscape, eight men had been pulled from the mine in a little more than seven hours, putting the rescue on track to end before the sun comes up Thursday. The entire rescue operation was meticulously choreographed, with no expense spared in bringing in topflight drillers and equipment — and drilling three separate holes into the copper and gold mine. Avalos' ascent came after Manuel Gonzalez, a mine safety expert from Codelco , Chile's state copper giant, reached the bottom of the mine shortly before 11:40 p.m. local time to become the first rescuer to be lowered through a 650-yard-long shaft and make contact with the trapped miners. Live TV images showed Gonzalez arriving at the bottom of the mine shaft, where he was greeted and hugged by the men, who filmed the arrival from inside. Before Gonzalez descended, Pinera hugged him and told him to "bring back our miners." Gonzalez, a former professional soccer player, was lowered with three oxygen tanks and a mask. He descended slowly to make safety inspections along the shaft and check the telecom equipment in the capsule. Pinera and the rescue team chanted the Chilean national anthem as Gonzalez made his way down.

Gonzalez was the first rescuer to reach the miners and he was the last person to come out of the mine area late Wednesday night. He waited alone a half-mile down for 26 minutes while the escape capsule went up and came back down for him. He talked by phone with other rescuers at the top while waiting, joking that he was praying the capsule showed up. A video feed showed him gesture triumphantly, then bow before making an awkward climb into the capsule, drawing cries of "Careful! Careful!" from those at the surface. Then he strapped himself in and shut the door before disappearing up the shaft. In all, the operation took just over 24 hours after the first miner was pulled out at 12:11 a.m. Wednesday. The intricately planned rescue moved with remarkable speed — and flawless execution — in ending history's longest underground entrapment. Wilson Avalos, who arrived one day after the Aug. 5 cave-in, said he and most of his family were going to stay at Camp Hope until the last miner is lifted up. "We are going to stay until the end," he said previously.

"This is not only about Florencio, but all the miners and all their families, which we have befriended over these longs weeks." "I can't believe it's already happening, we are so happy that our miners are coming out," Noemi Donoso, mother-in-law of miner Samuel Avalos, said before the rescue operation began. Relatives of the trapped miners waited at the dining tent of Camp Hope to watch a video feed of the rescue attempt. In the capital of Santiago, throngs of people watched for news on a giant screen in Parque Forestal. In Washington, a sign outside the Chilean Embassy invited people to watch the rescue attempt on TV. Chileans were gripped by the fate of the miners. Relatives of the miners were everywhere in the media, and for weeks, politicians held news conferences daily to disclose the smallest details of the rescue effort. The last miner out has been decided: shift foreman Luis Urzua, whose leadership helped the men endure 17 days with no outside contact after the collapse. The men made 48 hours' worth of rations last before rescuers reached them with a narrow borehole to send down more food.

HIs neighbors told the Associated Press he probably insisted on being the last one up. "He's a very good guy — he keeps everybody's spirits up and is so responsible — he's going to see this through to the end," said neighbor Angelica Vicencio, who has led a nightly vigil outside the Urzua home in Copiapo. Janette Marin, sister-in-law of miner Dario Segovia, said the order of rescue didn't matter. "This won't be a success unless they all get out," she said, echoing the solidarity the miners and people across Chile have expressed. President Obama praised rescuers, including many Americans. "While that rescue is far from over and difficult work remains, we pray that by God's grace, the miners will be able to emerge safely and return to their families soon," he said. Former miner Richard Trumka , president of the AFL-CIO , said in a statement: "It is a rare blessing when the Earth gives back up those that it has trapped within. Watching these brave miners return to the embrace of their families is an indescribable joy." Contributing: The Associated Press; Oren Dorell, Steve Marshall and Melanie Eversley in McLean, Va.

Posted E-mail | Print | To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones . For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com . Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more . BBC News - Chile mine rescue: Key events Accident Relatives of trapped miners wait for news Thirty-three miners were trapped underground when part of the San Jose mine in Chile's Atacama desert collapsed on 5 August 2010. A second collapse on 7 August hampered rescue efforts, blocking access to the lower parts of the mine. The San Jose mine, 800km (500 miles) north of Santiago, is mined for copper and gold. The main path - or rampa - reaches down to 720m (2,362ft) below the surface.

The collapses, blocking exit routes, had taken place between 400m (1,312ft) and 500m (1,640ft). Rescue teams drilled a number of exploratory boreholes, sending listening probes down knowing that, despite the collapse of some ventilation shafts, the miners may have survived. Discovery Miners attached a note to a borehole probe Seventeen days after the accident, rescuers found a note from the miners attached to one of the probes saying "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33" - "All 33 of us are well inside the shelter." The note referred to a refuge shelter, 700m (2,300ft) down, where the miners had been having lunch when the first collapse happened. Emergency supplies and fresh water were sent down the borehole to the miners after they had survived on rations for 17 days. Communications were set up and the miners told the rescue team they had access to about 1km (0.6 miles) of tunnel and had split into three groups to eat and sleep.

Since then, rescuers have sent food and medical supplies, specialist clothing, camp beds and other equipment down the borehole to make the miners' lives more comfortable. Drilling begins Three machines have drilled to different depths With access via the mine tunnels blocked, rescuers decided the best way of reaching the men was to drill a shaft and winch them to the surface. Three types of drilling equipment were used - two raise-bore machines, which drill a pilot hole before widening the shaft. And a third drill, normally used in the oil industry, which drills a wide shaft at the first instance. The pilot hole for the first shaft, Plan A, started on 30 August - aiming for the shelter. Plan B, involving faster machinery, was aiming for a machine workshop a few hundred metres from the refuge and completed its pilot hole on 17 September. Rescuers dug all three holes at the same time to be sure of getting the miners out as fast as possible, even if one of the pieces of equipment broke. Life underground Miners have been shifting debris from the rescue drills Communication with the miners has been key to morale and the rescue operation itself.

Messages from relatives and supplies have been passed down the boreholes in special tubes nicknamed "palomas" or "doves". But the miners have also been able to provide rescuers with video updates of conditions in the mine. The 33 men have split into three groups - Grupo Refugio, Grupo Rampa and Grupo 105 - named after the shelter, the ramp and Level 105 sections of the tunnel where they are trapped. They have established shift patterns - work tasks involve clearing the debris falling from the pilot hole as the shaft is widened and unloading the dozens of palomas sent down each day. Rest periods are used for sleeping, writing letters and games - the miners also need to keep fit and slim enough to fit in the rescue capsule. Life at the surface Tour of the camp above trapped Chile miners Relatives and friends of the 33 miners have gathered at the mine since the accident in an area dubbed Campo Esperanza, or Camp Hope. Families have been living in tents, with daily meals provided by charities and local authorities. They also send messages and creature comforts down to the miners, and await their replies, sent back up in the paloma supply tubes.

A school has been set up for the children of the trapped miners living at the camp - following a request from the miners. Breakthrough The BBC's Tim Willcox was at the mine when the breakthrough happened Amid scenes of jubilation above and below ground, the Plan B drill finally broke through to the miners' workshop on 9 October. After a video inspection of the shaft to check the rock's stability, rescuers decided they only needed to encase the first 96m (315 ft). Sixteen six-metre tubes were welded together to go into the shaft. This will prevent rocks in the looser soil near the top of the shaft being dislodged and jamming the rescue capsule. A winch and pulley for the rescue capsules will then be installed and the shaft tested before the rescue begins, it is hoped, on Wednesday. Rescue Luis Urzua was the last of the miners to be rescued After unmanned test runs and checks on the Phoenix capsule, the rescue operation began shortly after 2315 on Tuesday (0215 GMT on Wednesday 13 October) with Manuel Gonzalez being lowered down the shaft.

Mr Gonzalez was supposed to return to the surface and report on the condition of the rescue shaft, before handing over to a paramedic. However, the miner Florencio Avalos instead got into the capsule and was hauled up. The miners wore a "bio-harness" designed for astronauts - which monitors their heart rate, breathing, temperature and oxygen consumption - and sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare of the desert. Mr Avalos reached the surface at 0010 on Wednesday (0310 GMT) and was greeted by his family, rescuers, President Pinera and the first lady, Cecilia Morel. The rescue team was soon able to cut the time down between each ascent from an hour to 25 minutes, and by Wednesday afternoon it became clear that the operation would be completed in half the time originally estimated. President Pinera was also waiting at the head of the rescue shaft at 2155 on Wednesday (0055 GMT on Thursday), when the capsule carrying Luis Urzua reached the surface.

Before the remaining six rescuers started their return journey to the surface, they held up a banner saying "Mission accomplished." Celebrations as last trapped Chile miner is rescued - BBC News BBC News Celebrations as last trapped Chile miner is rescued 14 October 2010 Close share panel Media captionThe capsule carrying Luis Urzua emerged to cheers, songs and applause The last of the 33 miners trapped deep underground in northern Chile for more than two months has been rescued. Luis Urzua, the shift supervisor who was credited with helping the men survive the first 17 days before rescue teams made contact, was greeted by his family and President Sebastian Pinera. The six rescuers sent down to assist the miners have all been winched up. The rescued miners have been taken to hospital. All have severe dental infections, and some have eye problems. One man has been diagnosed with pneumonia, although his condition is not thought to be serious. Health Minister Jaime Manalich stressed that all appeared to be in far better condition than expected. The men had been trapped underground since 5 August, when a rockfall caused a tunnel to collapse.

"They were experiencing a kind of rebirth," President Pinera said in a televised address after Mr Urzua's ascent. "When the last miner exited the depths of the mine, I was moved as every Chilean was." 'Mission completed' The rescue operation began shortly after 2315 on Tuesday (0215 GMT on Wednesday) with a technical expert, Manuel Gonzalez, being lowered down the 624m (2,047ft) shaft. At the scene By Vanessa BuschschluterBBC News, San Jose mine, Chile Camp Hope, a rather drab and dry affair in the middle of the Atacama desert, erupted in an explosion of colour and sound the moment the capsule carrying Luis Urzua, the last of the 33 miners to be rescued, broke the surface. Champagne corks popped, balloons in the red, white and blue of the Chilean flag were released, and a rain of confetti and champagne descended on families, police and journalists alike. Sisters, mothers, fathers and brothers, everyone hugged and danced in front of the screen relaying the images from the rescue shaft some 500m up the hill.

Their shouts of joy carried through the clear and cold night. As has become tradition, they then sang the national anthem, arms interlocked, their T-shirts with pictures of the drill which dug the rescue shaft, soaked in champagne. Mr Gonzalez was supposed to return to the surface and report on the condition of the rescue shaft, before handing over to a paramedic. However, a live video feed from the refuge where the miners were gathered showed Mr Avalos getting into the "Phoenix" capsule. He was chosen to lead the way because he was one of the fittest of the miners. Mr Avalos reached the surface at 0010 (0310 GMT) and was greeted by his family, rescuers, President Pinera and the first lady, Cecilia Morel. Bystanders cheered and clapped, and then started chanting "Chile". President Pinera, his wife and Mining Minister Laurence Golborne were also waiting at the head of the shaft at 2155 (0055 GMT on Thursday), when the rescue capsule carrying Mr Urzua emerged to jubilant cheers, songs and applause.

The 54-year-old then embraced the president and said: "We have done what the entire world was waiting for. The 70 days that we fought so hard were not in vain." "We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing." Media captionPresident Pinera praises the miners, the families and the rescuers. Mr Pinera replied: "I congratulate you because you did your duty, leaving last like a ship's captain." "You are not the same, and the country is not the same after this. You were an inspiration. Go hug your wife and your daughter." He then led the crowd in singing the Chilean national anthem. Below ground, the six rescue workers held up a banner saying "Mission completed". They will now be winched to the surface.

Those freed earlier were: Jimmy Sanchez, 19, the youngest of the group who had only been working at the mine for five months and had been showing signs of anxiety Mario Gomez, at 63 the oldest miner, who sent up a letter shortly after the miners were found to be alive, saying that the mining company "has got to modernise" Jose Ojeda, whose scribbled note - which read "All 33 of us are safe in the shelter" - informed the world the miners were still alive 17 days after the rockfall that trapped them Bolivian Carlos Mamani, the only non-Chilean, who was greeted by his president, Evo Morales Mario Sepulveda, who brought a bag of stones from the mine as souvenirs Juan Illanes, a former soldier who urged his fellow miners to maintain discipline while trapped Claudio Yanez, who became engaged to his partner of 11 years, Cristina Nunez, during the ordeal Yonni Barrios, whose wife only found out about his mistress when they both attended a vigil for him Edison Pena, who became known as "the runner" because he ran up to 5km (3 miles) a day through the mine tunnels

 to keep himself fit Victor Zamora, not a miner but a driver who had gone underground to repair a vehicle and was trapped by the rockfall Omar Reygadas, a bulldozer operator who, after leaving the capsule, knelt on the ground clutching a Bible Esteban Rojas, who while underground told his girlfriend of 25 years that he now wanted to marry her Jose Henriquez, an evangelical preacher who had the job of keeping up his colleagues' spirits Claudio Acuna, one of the "palomeros" who handled packages for the group; he celebrated his birthday down the mine Franklin Lobos, a former professional soccer player in a Chilean league who received a signed t-shirt sent to the mine by Barcelona star David Villa Richard Villarroel, whose partner Dana Castro is heavily pregnant Raul Bustos, whose wife described him as the "luckiest unlucky man on Earth"; he lost his builder's business during Chile's earthquake in February Alex Vega, Jorge Galleguillos, Carlos Barrios, Victor Segovia, Daniel Herrera, Pablo Rojas, Dario Segovia, Osman Araya, Samuel Avalos, Carlos Bugueno, Renan Avalos, Juan Aguilar, Pedro Cortez and Ariel T

icona Following their reunions with relatives, the miners were flown by helicopter to hospital in the nearby city of Copiapo.

Order of rescue Florencio Avalos (31), Mario Sepulveda (39), Juan Illanes (51), Carlos Mamani (23), Jimmy Sanchez (19), Osman Araya (30), Jose Ojeda (46), Claudio Yanez (34), Mario Gomez (63), Alex Vega (31), Jorge Galleguillos (56), Edison Pena (34), Carlos Barrios (27), Victor Zamora (33), Victor Segovia (48), Daniel Herrera (27), Omar Reygadas (56), Esteban Rojas (44), Pablo Rojas (45), Dario Segovia (48), Yonni Barrios (50), Samuel Avalos (43), Carlos Bugueno (27), Jose Henriquez (54), Renan Avalos (29), Claudio Acuna, (35), Franklin Lobos (53), Richard Villarroel (27), Juan Aguilar (49), Raul Bustos (40), Pedro Cortez (24), Ariel Ticona (29), Luis Urzua (54)

 Send your reaction Outside the hospital, barriers have been set up to cope with the crowds of onlookers and journalists.

During their journey to the surface, the miners wore a "bio-harness" designed for astronauts, which monitors their heart rate, breathing, temperature and oxygen consumption. They were also given sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare of the desert after more than two months underground. Earlier, President Pinera told the BBC that it had been a day Chileans would never forget. "To see the miners coming from the bowel of the mountain to the surface and hug their wives, their daughters with so much emotion and joy has been something. It has proven the value of faith, the value of commitment, the value of teamwork." Mr Pinera said he hoped people would now associate Chile with the mission to get the miners out, rather than its years of military rule. He also vowed to change safety standards to protect miners. Celebrations as last trapped Chile miner is rescued - BBC News BBC News Celebrations as last trapped Chile miner is rescued 14 October 2010 Close share panel Media captionThe capsule carrying Luis Urzua emerged to cheers, songs and applause The last of the 33 miners trapped deep underground in northern Chile for more than two months has been rescued.

Luis Urzua, the shift supervisor who was credited with helping the men survive the first 17 days before rescue teams made contact, was greeted by his family and President Sebastian Pinera. The six rescuers sent down to assist the miners have all been winched up. The rescued miners have been taken to hospital. All have severe dental infections, and some have eye problems. One man has been diagnosed with pneumonia, although his condition is not thought to be serious. Health Minister Jaime Manalich stressed that all appeared to be in far better condition than expected. The men had been trapped underground since 5 August, when a rockfall caused a tunnel to collapse. "They were experiencing a kind of rebirth," President Pinera said in a televised address after Mr Urzua's ascent. "When the last miner exited the depths of the mine, I was moved as every Chilean was." 'Mission completed' The rescue operation began shortly after 2315 on Tuesday (0215 GMT on Wednesday) with a technical expert, Manuel Gonzalez, being lowered down the 624m (2,047ft) shaft.

At the scene By Vanessa BuschschluterBBC News, San Jose mine, Chile Camp Hope, a rather drab and dry affair in the middle of the Atacama desert, erupted in an explosion of colour and sound the moment the capsule carrying Luis Urzua, the last of the 33 miners to be rescued, broke the surface. Champagne corks popped, balloons in the red, white and blue of the Chilean flag were released, and a rain of confetti and champagne descended on families, police and journalists alike. Sisters, mothers, fathers and brothers, everyone hugged and danced in front of the screen relaying the images from the rescue shaft some 500m up the hill. Their shouts of joy carried through the clear and cold night. As has become tradition, they then sang the national anthem, arms interlocked, their T-shirts with pictures of the drill which dug the rescue shaft, soaked in champagne. Mr Gonzalez was supposed to return to the surface and report on the condition of the rescue shaft, before handing over to a paramedic. However, a live video feed from the refuge where the miners were gathered showed Mr Avalos getting into the "Phoenix" capsule.

He was chosen to lead the way because he was one of the fittest of the miners. Mr Avalos reached the surface at 0010 (0310 GMT) and was greeted by his family, rescuers, President Pinera and the first lady, Cecilia Morel. Bystanders cheered and clapped, and then started chanting "Chile". President Pinera, his wife and Mining Minister Laurence Golborne were also waiting at the head of the shaft at 2155 (0055 GMT on Thursday), when the rescue capsule carrying Mr Urzua emerged to jubilant cheers, songs and applause. The 54-year-old then embraced the president and said: "We have done what the entire world was waiting for. The 70 days that we fought so hard were not in vain." "We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing." Media captionPresident Pinera praises the miners, the families and the rescuers.

Mr Pinera replied: "I congratulate you because you did your duty, leaving last like a ship's captain." "You are not the same, and the country is not the same after this. You were an inspiration. Go hug your wife and your daughter." He then led the crowd in singing the Chilean national anthem. Below ground, the six rescue workers held up a banner saying "Mission completed". They will now be winched to the surface.

Those freed earlier were: Jimmy Sanchez, 19, the youngest of the group who had only been working at the mine for five months and had been showing signs of anxiety Mario Gomez, at 63 the oldest miner, who sent up a letter shortly after the miners were found to be alive, saying that the mining company "has got to modernise" Jose Ojeda, whose scribbled note - which read "All 33 of us are safe in the shelter" - informed the world the miners were still alive 17 days after the rockfall that trapped them Bolivian Carlos Mamani, the only non-Chilean, who was greeted by his president, Evo Morales Mario Sepulveda, who brought a bag of stones from the mine as souvenirs Juan Illanes, a former soldier who urged his fellow miners to maintain discipline while trapped Claudio Yanez, who became engaged to his partner of 11 years, Cristina Nunez, during the ordeal Yonni Barrios, whose wife only found out about his mistress when they both attended a vigil for him Edison Pena, who became known as "the runner" because he ran up to 5km (3 miles) a day through the mine tunnels

 to keep himself fit Victor Zamora, not a miner but a driver who had gone underground to repair a vehicle and was trapped by the rockfall Omar Reygadas, a bulldozer operator who, after leaving the capsule, knelt on the ground clutching a Bible Esteban Rojas, who while underground told his girlfriend of 25 years that he now wanted to marry her Jose Henriquez, an evangelical preacher who had the job of keeping up his colleagues' spirits Claudio Acuna, one of the "palomeros" who handled packages for the group; he celebrated his birthday down the mine Franklin Lobos, a former professional soccer player in a Chilean league who received a signed t-shirt sent to the mine by Barcelona star David Villa Richard Villarroel, whose partner Dana Castro is heavily pregnant Raul Bustos, whose wife described him as the "luckiest unlucky man on Earth"; he lost his builder's business during Chile's earthquake in February Alex Vega, Jorge Galleguillos, Carlos Barrios, Victor Segovia, Daniel Herrera, Pablo Rojas, Dario Segovia, Osman Araya, Samuel Avalos, Carlos Bugueno, Renan Avalos, Juan Aguilar, Pedro Cortez and Ariel T

icona Following their reunions with relatives, the miners were flown by helicopter to hospital in the nearby city of Copiapo.

Order of rescue Florencio Avalos (31), Mario Sepulveda (39), Juan Illanes (51), Carlos Mamani (23), Jimmy Sanchez (19), Osman Araya (30), Jose Ojeda (46), Claudio Yanez (34), Mario Gomez (63), Alex Vega (31), Jorge Galleguillos (56), Edison Pena (34), Carlos Barrios (27), Victor Zamora (33), Victor Segovia (48), Daniel Herrera (27), Omar Reygadas (56), Esteban Rojas (44), Pablo Rojas (45), Dario Segovia (48), Yonni Barrios (50), Samuel Avalos (43), Carlos Bugueno (27), Jose Henriquez (54), Renan Avalos (29), Claudio Acuna, (35), Franklin Lobos (53), Richard Villarroel (27), Juan Aguilar (49), Raul Bustos (40), Pedro Cortez (24), Ariel Ticona (29), Luis Urzua (54)

 Send your reaction Outside the hospital, barriers have been set up to cope with the crowds of onlookers and journalists.

During their journey to the surface, the miners wore a "bio-harness" designed for astronauts, which monitors their heart rate, breathing, temperature and oxygen consumption. They were also given sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare of the desert after more than two months underground. Earlier, President Pinera told the BBC that it had been a day Chileans would never forget. "To see the miners coming from the bowel of the mountain to the surface and hug their wives, their daughters with so much emotion and joy has been something. It has proven the value of faith, the value of commitment, the value of teamwork." Mr Pinera said he hoped people would now associate Chile with the mission to get the miners out, rather than its years of military rule. He also vowed to change safety standards to protect miners.

Question: What was the name of the camp which was set up in Chile when 30 miners where trapped underground?
Answer: Camp Hope