Chile: Chi - Chi - Chi - Le - Le - Le | Rescue operation successful with 33 miners safely brought to above-ground

A few miners are expected to receive dental surgery in the coming days to treat abscesses and other conditions.  Mañalich says the most serious case was a miner with pneumonia.

Photo: AP

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Voice of America | Miami
By Brian Wagner | October 13, 2010
Edited by Ahmadiyya Times

The last trapped miner appeared from the Capsule Fenix II and  this will bring the Chilean mine collapse saga to a happy end.

Chilean rescuers reached the end of a marathon operation to rescue 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months.  All of the rescued miners are being sent for medical treatment and that several are expected to undergo surgery in the coming days.

Chilean officials say the rescue operation at the San Jose mine in northern Chile is advancing more quickly than expected and could conclude before Thursday.  Initially, officials said it might take 48 hours to pull the miners to the surface through a 622-meter rescue shaft.

Rescue crews have been honing the process throughout the day, enabling them to pull each miner to the surface in about 15 minutes.

Rescue crews and officials cheer and clap as each miner arrives at the surface, where family members are waiting for him.  Medical teams rush each man  to a hospital in nearby Copiapó for a thorough examination.


Chile's President Sebastián Piñera is at the site to greet each rescued miner.

After Victor Zamora surfaced, Mr. Piñera told him that he was never alone, saying that the government fulfilled its promise to bring the men back alive.

The rescue ends a two-month-long ordeal for the men, who were trapped by a cave-in at the gold and copper mine on August 5.  The men were cut off from the surface for 17 days, until a drilling crew located them.

Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne offered thanks to scores of experts and others who have helped carry out the rescue operation.  But he cautioned that the job was not over yet.

Golborne said weeks of work are finally paying off, but officials will not be satisfied until the rescue is completed.

Health Minister Jaime Mañalich says many of the miners appear to be in better health than expected.  He says each miner will undergo a series of tests, including a lung x-ray and heart monitoring, and that some might receive psychiatric treatment, if needed.

A few miners are expected to receive dental surgery in the coming days to treat abscesses and other conditions.  Mañalich says the most serious case was a miner with pneumonia.

He says the miner will likely remain in intensive care for several days to receive oxygen and other treatments.

More than 1,000 journalists are covering the rescue operation at the remote San Jose mine in the Atacama desert.  During the past two months, relatives of the miners and rescue crews have gathered outside the mine, forming a community they call Camp Hope.

Millions of people around the world are watching the rescue operation unfold on television.  In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama says he watched the first miner being freed, adding that it was a tribute to the hard work of the rescue workers and the Chilean people.  He thanked people from around the world who contributed to the operation, including a U.S.-based drilling team and experts from the U.S. space agency, NASA.

-- Edited by Ahmadiyya Times

Read original post here: Chile Nears End of Rescue Operation for 33 Miners