Joy in Chile as all 33 miners rescued

The last of 33 miners trapped underground for 10 weeks in Chile has been rescued. Shift supervisor Luis Urzua was greeted by his family and President Sebastian Pinera, sparking scenes of celebration across the country. 

Reuters

The 22-hour mission saw each of the trapped men winched to the surface through a narrow escape shaft. They had been trapped in a tunnel, 622 metres below the surface of the Atacama Desert, after a cave in on 5 August.

The complex rescue operation officially ended at 12:35 am on Thursday, when six specialists who were sent into the mine to prepare the miners for their 15-minute ascent also returned to the surface.

"They were experiencing a kind of rebirth," Pinera said in a televised address after Urzua's ascent. "When the last miner exited the depths of the mine, I was moved as every Chilean was."

Pinera said the rescue operation was "inspiring... for the whole world." He also praised Urzua for seeing all his men to safety first before "leaving last like a ship's captain."

Initially they said they couldn’t afford to pay them. Early on experts had predicted that they would declare bankrupty.

03:08

Q&A - Santiago correspondent Matthew Chung

Ramin Mazaheri

Pinera and Urzua then led a rendition of Chile’s national anthem.

The spectacular rescue was followed by an estimated one billion people around the world, with many of them following live updates on television or the internet.

"President Sebastian Pinera yesterday actually said this mine will never operate again," says Santiago correspondent Matthew Chung.

"As far as paying the wages goes, the company did take out a loan, San Esteban [Mining Company] to pay the September wages of the men who were trapped, however there some other 250 workers who were not trapped who were not being paid," Chung told RFI.