Rescued Chile miners reach surface

Ordeal for 33 men trapped underground for two months nears end as they get pulled out one by one in a rescue capsule.

Avalos, in beige, embraced the president seconds after coming out of the rescue capsule [AFP]

After more than two months underground, the first few miners have emerged from the collapsed Chilean copper mine in the Atacama desert to the excitement and relief of waiting family and friends.

The scene was one of tears and elation on Wednesday as rescue teams worked to lift the first four of 33 miners to the surface one-by-one in a narrow, missile-like capsule, nicknamed "Phoenix".

Florencio Avalos, a 31-year-old driver, was the first miner to be rescued - chosen because he was considered among the most physically and mentally fit of the group.

He smiled broadly as he emerged and hugged his sobbing 7-year-old son and wife. He then embraced Sebastian Pinera, the president, who is at the scene overseeing the rescue operation.

Mario Sepulveda, a 39-year-old electrical specialist, was the second to reach the surface. After hugging his wife, he jubilantly handed souvenir rocks to laughing rescuers.

"I'm so happy!" Sepulveda yelled, punching his fist in the air and hugging everyone in sight.

The president described how lovely it was to see Avalos' son greet his father. "I told Florencio, that few times have I ever seen a son show so much love for his father," Pinera said.

"This won't be over until all 33 are out," he said. "Hopefully the spirit of these miners will remain forever with us ... When Chile unites, and we always do in times of adversity, we are capable of great things."

The miners are pulled up through a 600-metres-deep shaft in a rescue capsule wide as the shoulders of an average built miner, designed specifically for the operation. The miners can communicate with rescue teams using an intercom in the capsule.

After being greeted by family members, they are brought into a medical triage centre for the first of a battery of tests.

Quick rescue

Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman, reporting from the mine, said it took only 16 minutes for Avalos to be pulled up the shaft.

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

Panic attacks are the rescuers' biggest concern. A miner could get claustrophobic and do something to damage the capsule. Or a falling rock could wedge it in the shaft.

Laurence Golborne, the mining minister, said authorities had already thought of everything.

"There is no need to try to start guessing what could go wrong. We have done that job," he said. "We have hundreds of different contingencies."

Al Jazeera's Newman said the successful rescue operation is good news for president Pinera, whose government has been criticised for its slow response to the earthquake which killed more than 500 people in February.

"Pinera has been under quite a bit of criticism for the slowness of the reconstruction effort," she said.

"[The mine rescue] has taken away some of the attention from that. Most of the eyes of the country have been focused on this rescue effort but once it's over, people will go back to asking the hard questions. Not only what happened in the mine and what's wrong with the mining regulations in Chile but also what about the rest of the country?"

Medical check-ups

Each miner stepping out of the capsule is being greeted by up to three family members and waiting doctors before being flown to a regional hospital for at least two days of check-ups.

In the nearby town of Copiapo, streets and plazas were filled with people blowing horns and singing songs as they watched events unfold on large plasma screens.

Officials have decided the order in which the miners are being pulled up, based on their health and capacities.

First out will be those best able to handle any difficulties and tell their comrades what to expect. Then, the weakest and the ill - in this case, about 10 suffer from hypertension, diabetes, dental and respiratory infections and skin lesions from the mine's humidity. The last should be people who are both physically fit and strong of character.

The last miner out will be Luis Urzua, the shift foreman, whose leadership was credited for helping the men endure 17 days with no outside contact after the mine collapsed on August 5.

The 32 Chileans and one Bolivian trapped in the San Jose mine in northern Chile were initially believed to have perished, but they had found refuge in an emergency shelter and survived by strictly rationing their food and water.

Initially, officials had thought it would take until Christmas to get the miners out, but the drilling of a rescue tunnel 622 metres deep to reach where the miners were trapped was completed last weekend.

Since then, tests of the tunnel have been successfully completed. Engineers initially said the rescue of each miner could take up to 90 minutes, meaning the entire rescue could last up to two days. The last of them was expected to be saved by late on Thursday.

Monica Villamizar, Al Jazeera's correspondent at the scene of the rescue, said: "Authorities have told us that after all the necessary medical tests have been made, and the check-ups complete, they are free to go with their families and they are free to talk with whoever they want.

"There are a lot of rumours here about contracts going on and even deals for books and films with Hollywood."

Each of the trapped miners has been promised six months of psychological support by the Chilean government.

The men, who set a new record for the length of time workers have survived underground after a mining accident, have been doing exercises to keep their weight down for their ascent.

As they were pulled to the surface, a video camera in the escape capsule watched for panic attacks. The miners' pulse, skin temperature and respiration rate are constantly measured through a monitor around their abdomens. To prevent blood clotting from the quick ascent, they took aspirin and wore compression socks.

Medics say some of the men are psychologically fragile and may struggle with stress for a long time after their rescue.

Source:Al Jazeera and agencies

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