Chile rescue begins as three trapped miners see sky

San Jose Mine(Chile), Oct 13 (IBNS) Rescue operation for 33 Chile miners, trapped underground for 68 days, began on Wednesday at San Jose mine with three miners being pulled out so far, a report said.

Florencio Avalos was first to see the open sky in more than two months as the ‘Mother of all operations’ pulled him out of the pit.

He was followed by Mario Sepulveda Espina an hour after.

Avalos, wearing a helmet and sunglasses to protect himself from the glare of rescue lights, smiled as he hugged rescuers, and then embraced Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who had been overseeing the rescue operation.

Avalos’ wife, two sons and father looked on. His seven-year-old son Bairo sobbed, as did Chile’s first lady, Cecilia Morel.

After he emerged from the capsule that was pulled out of a manhole-sized opening, bystanders cheered and clapped, then broke into a chant of “Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!” — the country’s name.

Minutes earlier, mine rescue expert Manuel Gonzalez of the state copper company Codelco grinned and made the sign of the cross as he was lowered into the shaft to the trapped men — apparently without incident.

He was followed by Roberto Ros, a paramedic with the Chilean navy’s special forces.

Together they will prepare the miners for their rescue — expected to take as many as 36 hours for all to surface.

“We made a promise to never surrender, and we kept it,” Pinera said as he waited to greet the miners, whose endurance and unity captivated the world as Chile meticulously prepared their rescue.

Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said he hoped the first of the miners would emerge before midnight, a slow process because of the need for methodical testing with a rescue worker inside once all the cables are attached and tested.

The last miner out is also decided: Shift foreman Luis Urzua, whose leadership was credited for helping 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.

The miners will be ushered through an inflatable tunnel, like those used in sports stadiums, to an ambulance for a trip of several hundred yards (meters) to a triage station for a medical check.

They will gather with a few relatives in an area, also closed to the media, before being taken by helicopter to a hospital.

Each ride up the shaft is expected to take about 20 minutes, and authorities expect they can haul up one miner per hour.

When the last man surfaces, it promises to end a national crisis that began when 700,000 tons of rock collapsed August 5, sealing the miners into the lower reaches of the mine.

The only media allowed to record them coming out of the shaft will be a government photographer and Chile’s state TV channel, whose live broadcast will be delayed by 30 seconds or more to prevent the release of anything unexpected.

Over 1000 photographers and camera operators are on a platform more than 300 feet (90 meters) away.

US President Barack Obama praised rescuers, who include 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.

Since August 22, when a narrow bore hole broke through to their refuge and the miners stunned the world with a note, scrawled in red pen, disclosing their survival, their families have been exposed in ways they never imagined.

Miners had to describe their physical and mental health in minute detail with teams of doctors and psychologists.

In some cases, when both wives and lovers claimed the same man, everyone involved had to face the consequences.

Since shortly after the accident, the miners’ lifeline to the outside world has been a tube no wider than an orange, through which they have been able to talk with rescuers and family members by telephone.

They have received necessities such as medicine and food, besides personal items to pass the time, such as music.

“We’re so proud the whole country has come behind us,” said Urzua, the miner.

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