Reunited: Freed Chile miners pose together in hospital gowns to celebrate their great escape



Wearing hospital gowns and shades, 33 freed Chile miners plucked to safety from a living tomb today posed together for the first time.

The team, who spent 69 days trapped in a San Jose gold and copper mine, appear to have come through their ordeal remarkably well.

Escape artists: Chilean President Sebastian Pinera poses with the 33 rescued miners inside the Copiapo Hospital

In a display of extraordinary courage, he risked his own life to save those of the 33 trapped Chilean miners.

And not only was mine rescue expert Manuel Gonzalez the first person down the shaft, he was also the last out.

The former professional footballer was strapped into the tiny capsule - nicknamed Phoenix - before plummeting 2,040ft to the 33 trapped miners at 1.55am yesterday.

He had vowed to stay until they were all evacuated - and stayed true to his word as all the miners and five rescuers made it to safety first.

Waving to the camera, bowing and then offering up a prayer, he then climbed inside Phoenix 2 and was then hauled the 2,040ft up the shaft.

As he emerged to massive cheers on the surface, rescue colleagues jokingly asked if he had switched off the lights and made the bed, before helping him on to the ground.



With a pat on the back and a hug from President Sebastian Pinera, the Chilean had yesterday become the first human to try out the capsule and the first person to see the miners in their 69-day captivity.

Bravest man in Chile: Manuel Gonzalez shakes hands with the country's president Sebastian Pinera as he prepares to descend deep in the San Jose mine to rescue the miners

Mission accomplished: Mr Gonzalez smiles and waves to the camera before bowing to those on the surface after the last man left the mine

Relief: After Mr Gonzalez had returned to the surface, the Chilean president closes the lid on the rescue tunnel

Gonzalez is a mine safety expert from Codelco, Chile's state copper firm.

Wearing bright orange overalls, he descended slowly down the shaft making safety inspections of the rock and checking telecoms equipment with the capsule.

On his arrival, cameras showed him shaking hands and hugging the trapped miners in the chamber before calmly explaining the rescue plan to them.

After he was successfully hauled out of the collapsed San Jose mine, Mr Pinera asked him what he was thinking on the way up.

Global spotlight: A satellite image of the San Jose mine shows the vast Camp Hope that has sprung up around it after the miners were found alive

He said: 'I was thinking that I hope this never happens again.

'There must be changes to mining so this doesn't happen again.'

The rescue mission was flawlessly executed and proceeded with remarkable speed.

Miner after miner climbed into the cramped cage deep beneath the earth to emerge in precious sunlight after the longest underground entrapment in history.

By 1.55am BST all 33 had been pulled to freedom, as the operation was completed in half the expected time.

After 69 days underground, including two weeks during which they were feared dead, the miners emerged to the cheers of exuberant Chileans and before the eyes of a transfixed world.

Last man standing: Foreman Luis Urzua, who is credited with rationing food and helping the miners to stay positive, was the final miner to emerge

Johnny Barrios (left) is greeted by his girlfriend Susana Valenzuela as the 21st miner freed. His wife did not attend the rescue. Mario Gomez gives a thumbs up sign as he arrives at hospital

Darling, you're back: Angelica Araya with husband Osman, the sixth miner to arrive on the surface Scenes of jubilation erupted every time a miner arrived at the surface of the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile's northern Atacama desert. But there are also concerns about the psychological impact of the ordeal on the men. One has been treated for pneumonia and two others have dental problems, but some have been told they may be able to leave hospital later today. The rescue is a big success for Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who waited at the mouth of the rescue shaft to greet and hug the men as they emerged. 'Each rescue is taking 40 minutes... it could be completed today,' said a beaming Pinera, who planned to stay until the last man was out ‘Welcome to life,’ President Pinera told Victor Segovia, the 15th miner out. On a day of superlatives, it seemed no overstatement. Party time: Residents cheer while watching the rescue of the last miners on a large screen in a public square in the nearby town of Copiapo Expectant: Christian Rodriguez watches the drama unfold with his daughter Isabella in the Chilean Embassy in Washington The miners emerged like clockwork, jubilantly embracing wives, children and rescuers and looking remarkably composed after languishing in the depths of a mine that easily could have been their tomb.

Rescuers' anxiety melted away at 12.11am when the stoutest of the 33 miners, Florencio Avalos, emerged from the missile-like rescue capsule smiling broadly after his half-mile journey to the surface. In a din of cheers, he hugged his sobbing seven-year-old son and wife and then President Sebastian Pinera, who has been deeply involved in an effort that had become a matter of national pride.

The most ebullient of the bunch came out second, an hour later. 'I think I had extraordinary luck. I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God,' said Mario Sepulveda. While the first miners to be rescued were in good shape, some have been struggling with illness and are more fragile, so medical teams were on hand to treat them. First line (L-R), Alex Vega Salazar, Ariel Ticona Yanez, Carlos Bugueno Alfaro, Calros Barrios Contreras, Carlos Mamani Solis, Claudio Acuna Cortes, Claudio Yanez Lagos, Daniel Herrera Campos, Dario Segovia Rojas, Edison Penaa Villarroel and Esteban Rojas Carrizo. Second line (L-R) Florencio Avalos Silva, Franklin Lobos Ramirez, Jimmy Sanchez Lagues, Jorge Galleguillos, Jose Ojeda Vidal, Jose Henriquez Gonzalez, Juan Illanes Palma, Juan Aguilar Gaete, Luis Alberto Urzua, Mario Gomez Heredia and Mario Sepúlveda Espina. Third line (L-R) Omar Orlando Reygadas, Osman Isidro Araya Acuna, Pablo Amadeos Rojas Villacorta, Pedro Cortez, Raul Enriquez Bustos Ibanez, Renan Avalos Silva, Richard Villarroel Godoy, Samuel Avalos Acuna, Victor Segovia Rojas, Victor Zamora Bugueno and Yonny Barrios Rojas In the capital, Santiago, a cacophony of motorists' horns sounded. In the nearby regional capital of Copiapo, from which 24 of the miners hail, the mayor cancelled school so parents and children could 'watch the rescue in the warmth of the home'. All news channels from North America to Europe and the Middle East carried live coverage. Pope Benedict XVI said in Spanish that he 'continues with hope to entrust to God's goodness' the fate of the men.

The entire rescue operation has been meticulously choreographed, with no expense spared in bringing in topflight drillers and equipment - and boring three separate holes into the copper and gold mine.

Pinera put his mining minister and the operations chief of state-owned Codelco, the country's biggest company, in charge of the rescue.

It went so well that its managers abandoned what a legion of journalists had deemed an ultraconservative plan for restricting images of the rescue. Chile has promised that its care of the miners won't end for six months at least - not until they can be sure that each one has readjusted. Psychiatrists and other experts in surviving extreme situations predict their lives will be anything but normal. Since August 22, when a narrow bore hole broke through to their refuge and the miners stunned the world with a note, scrawled in red ink, disclosing their survival, their families have been exposed in ways they never imagined. Miners had to describe their physical and mental health in detail with teams of doctors and psychologists. In some cases, when both wives and lovers claimed the same man, everyone involved had to face the consequences.