Rescuers have drilled through to the underground chamber where 33 Chilean miners have been trapped since August.

The breakthrough at the San Jose mine came shortly after 0800 local time (1200 GMT), sparking celebrations.

It means efforts to remove the miners through the tunnel should begin within days.

The men were trapped when part of the mine collapsed on 5 August - their 65-day ordeal is the longest suffered by a group of miners caught underground.

They have been living in a shelter 700m (2,300ft) underground. However, the Plan B drill - the second of three which have been working simultaneously - has penetrated 624m to a workshop which can be reached by the miners.

Officials say everything needed for the rescue is now in place.

However, they still need to determine whether the miners can be winched up through the exposed rock, or if they will have to wait for the shaft to be encased with steel piping.

Huge cranes have been brought in to lower the metal casing if it is needed. Tests are expected to take hours, possibly days, and Chile's Mining Minister Laurence Golborne has warned that it will be three to eight days before the rescue mission can begin.

The layers of rock nearest to the surface are crumbly and loose and will need definitely need casing, the BBC's Tim Willcox reports from the mine.

But if the authorities decide not to encase the rescue shaft all the way down to miners, the effort to pull them out could begin within a few days.

They will drop a camera down the escape shaft to inspect the quality of the rock.

Once the tunnel is secured, the rescue team will set up a winch at the top of it and lower a specially designed escape capsule down to the miners, and only then will they be brought up to the surface.

The Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich says his team is ready to start the rescue as early as Tuesday.

Awesome work by the Chileans.  8)

Just a thought. When they send the capsule down to retrieve the miners, maybe they should send the owners and board of directors of the company down one by one, one owner/director down, one worker up, then wait about 3 months before they bring the owners/directors back up.

Just a thought. When they send the capsule down to retrieve the miners, maybe they should send the owners and board of directors of the company down one by one, one owner/director down, one worker up, then wait about 3 months before they bring the owners/directors back up.


Actually before they bring any of the miners up, they're gonna lower a few medics DOWN INTO the mine space.  :o  They'll check out the miners and figure out who comes up first.  They want the strongest and most psychologically strong guy to go up first, in case there are any problems and so that he can coach the following guys thru the process.

Gotta give credit to those medics.  8)  They got ones made of brass.  Hats off to them !!!!!!  :)

The place must be smelling pretty ripe by now!
8-P

The place must be smelling pretty ripe by now!
8-P


Yeah.  Hopefully the Chileans sent some Mitchum Power Gel down that hole.

I'm sure glad those guys are going to survive.  The idea of the miners dying slowly over three months was a nightmare!
:o

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera arrives at the San Jose mine as the rescue of 33 trapped miners is due to get under way.

That heroic foreman deserves a special award for keeping his men alive for fourteen weeks in a tiny subterranean chamber.  Morale must have sunk pretty low.  I don't know if I could stand it for fourteen hours, let alone weeks!

Three of the 33 miners trapped deep underground for more than two months in northern Chile have been rescued.

Eighteen of the 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months in northern Chile are rescued amid scenes of jubilation.

Chile's president has said his country will never be the same again after the extraordinary rescue of the 33 miners trapped deep underground for 69 days.

Three of the miners rescued in Chile have been allowed to leave hospital after doctors said they were in "incredibly good health".

Three of the miners rescued in Chile have been allowed to leave hospital after doctors said they were in "incredibly good health".


After they were able to contact them they were sent a diet of foods to fortify their health while getting them fit to allow them to enter the cage to get them out.  The ordeal may have helped them physically, though mentally it will challenge them, probably, for the rest of their lives.

After they were able to contact them they were sent a diet of foods to fortify their health while getting them fit to allow them to enter the cage to get them out.  The ordeal may have helped them physically, though mentally it will challenge them, probably, for the rest of their lives.


If I was one of those miners, I imagine I'd be grateful to be alive!  I'd thank God every morning and every night.  I would also like to take long walks in big open meadows and avoid confined spaces for the rest of my days!
:)

After they were able to contact them they were sent a diet of foods to fortify their health while getting them fit to allow them to enter the cage to get them out.  The ordeal may have helped them physically, though mentally it will challenge them, probably, for the rest of their lives.


I agree.

It is brilliant all 33 Chilean miners got out of the mine alive.

Some of the 33 miners freed after 69 days underground in northern Chile gather for a ceremony at the mine to celebrate their rescue.