Six of the 33 trapped Chilean miners have been rescued after 69 days spent 624 meters underground. The rescue operation began at 5:10 AM Croatian time.
At that time, a rescuer descended into the shaft to explain the rescue procedure to the miners. Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva, a 31-year-old second foreman of the group of miners, was the first to be brought to the surface in a specially designed capsule, Phoenix 2. He was the first rescued because he was in the best psychological and physical condition. The second rescued miner, Mario Sepulveda, was in very good spirits, joking over the audio link with the rescuers and urging them with the words, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” before he reached the surface. Upon emerging from the narrow capsule, he immediately embraced his wife and the Chilean president. Laughing loudly, he showed pieces of rock he had brought with him from the mine’s bottom as souvenirs. Later, in a statement to the press, he said he never doubted they would be rescued, but also warned that safety in mines must be increased.
The fourth to exit the mine was 23-year-old Bolivian Carlos Mamani. After exiting the capsule, he knelt down and thanked everyone. Following him to the surface was 19-year-old Jimmy Sanchez, the youngest miner in the group, who has only been in this job for five months. This situation was particularly difficult for him. He said thoughts of his two-month-old daughter helped him survive. The sixth miner, 30-year-old Osman Araya, emerged from the shaft after 69 days, embraced his wife, and thanked everyone who worked on their release. Traveling through the 70-centimeter-wide shaft is 46-year-old Jose Ojeda. Doctors were concerned about his health as he is diabetic. He is the author of the message, “We are fine, all 33,” which informed the public 17 days after the accident that the miners were alive. Rescue services divided the 33 miners into three groups – agile, strong, and weak. The agile miners exit first, followed by the weak, and the strong miners will exit last. Family members and the presidential couple, Pinera, await the miners upon their exit from the shaft.
