Trapped Chilean miners rally around leaders to survive ordeal

COPIAPO, Chile - Trapped deep beneath the earth, their fate uncertain, the 33 men awaiting rescue at a caved-in Chilean mine have rallied around leaders, including their eldest colleague, 63-year-old Mario Gomez, now a symbol of their resilience.

Gomez became an instant hero here after penning the all-capitals, red ink note that gave Chile its first sign that the miners were still alive.

"All 33 of us are well inside the shelter," said the note, which was carried to the surface by a drill bit on August 22, after two weeks of silence, and was greeted with screams of joy and tears of relief from desperate relatives.