Global General

Latest developments in the Chile mine rescue

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-10-14 09:25

Thirty two of the 33 trapped miners have been rescued from a gold and copper mine in Chile's northern Atacama desert in a painstaking operation still under way.

The latest miner to reach the surface was Ariel Ticona, 29, who watched his wife give birth in a video sent to the depths of the mine. They named their newborn daughter Esperanza, or "Hope."

Top Developments

* One by one, the miners climbed into a specially designed steel capsule barely wider than a man's shoulders and took a 15-minute journey through 2,050 feet (625 metres) of rock to the surface.

* The first rescued miners were hoisted to safety, cheering, punching the air and hugging their families after two months deep underground.

* The first miner to be freed, Florencio Avalos, was brought to the surface shortly after midnight. Avalos, a 31-year-old father of two, looked very healthy following a nearly 16-minute journey to safety.

* The miners were sent for medical checkups and found to be in "more than satisfactory" health, except for one who has pneumonia and is being treated with antibiotics.

Ongoing Rescue Operation

* Rescuers, relatives and friends broke into jubilant cheers as each miner emerged from the mine. Nervous wives, children, parents and friends waited on an arid, rocky hillside above the San Jose mine for the men to be evacuated.

* Trapped deep inside the earth for 69 days, Mario Sepulveda never lost his sense of humor, so when he was finally pulled to safety, he brought a souvenir with him -- a bag of rocks.

* The accident shone a spotlight on lax mining controls in the world's top copper producer, but also highlighted a mature industry that has the machinery and expertise to handle one of the world's most challenging rescues ever.

* The ordeal began with a cave-in on Aug. 5 that trapped the miners about 2,050 feet (625 metres) underground in the mine near the northern Chilean city of Copiapo, 500 miles (800 km) north of Santiago.

Quote of the Day

* "This is a miracle from God." -- Alberto Avalos, the  first rescued miner's uncle.

* "I have been with God and I've been with the devil." -- Sepulveda, the second miner to be pulled from the mine.

* "It's dangerous to say but things are going extraordinarily well," Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich.