10.28am (6.28am Chile):

From 10.30am (6.30am Chile) we are continuing our coverage on a new page. Please click on this link to follow the latest updates from the San José mine.

10.21am (6.21am Chile):

José Ojeda is the seventh miner to be rescued. He waves a smudgy Chilean flag. Very calm and now a big smile and a big hug for his stepdaughter, Elizabeth Steger, who is wearing a white helmet. Then the official welcoming party.

10.12am (6.12am Chile):

The world's media is following the Chilean rescue blow-by-blow. Back in 1987, there was a similar media hullabaloo in the US over an 18-month-old toddler, who was stuck in an eight-inch pipe. "Baby Jessica" was stuck in a well casing for two-and-a-half days as scores of rescuers drilled a parallel tunnel and connecting shaft through solid rock to rescue her.

10am (6am Chile):

Very quick turnaround here. The capsule has gone back down.

Here is Rory Caroll's story on the first miners to be rescued. Rory writes:

Rory Carroll byline. Photograph: Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images

The first of the 33 trapped miners in Chile escaped to freedom today in a rescue operation that captivated a watching audience around the world.

Each man emerged to the surface, blinking and grinning, after being winched up a narrow, claustrophobic, 622m shaft in scenes that matched the moon landings for drama. The rest were expected out by tonight.

Chile Miners: Jose Ojeda Vidal. Photograph: Diario Atacama/EPA

9.51am (5.51am Chile):

José Ojeda Vidal, 46, will be next up. Part of the 'weak' group, he is taking medication for diabetes. Secretary and spiritual leader, he told his daughter Elizabeth that he is bearing up. "He told me not to worry and that he's fine," she said.

9.49am (5.49am Chile):

We have had some problems with our video feed, but if you press F5 and refresh the page now it should come back. Sorry about that.

9.48am (5.48am Chile): According to El País, Araya's words as he reached the surface were: "God bless everyone who has supported us through these days."

9.40am (5.40am Chile):

My colleague Sam Jones writes:

Sam Jones Photograph: The Guardian

The Chilean national anthem seems, unsurprisingly, to be ringing out across the length of the skinny Latin American nation. Lyrics below. Notice heavy mention of sky, fields, mountains and shores, but nothing about mines. Perhaps that will change.

Pure, Chile, is your blue sky;

Pure breezes cross you as well.

And your flower-embroidered field

Is the happy copy of Eden

Majestic is the white mountain

That was given to you as a bastion by the Lord

That was given to you as a bastion by the Lord

And that sea that calmly washes your shores

Promises you a future splendour

And that sea that calmly washes your shores

Promises you a splendid future

Sweet fatherland, accept the vows

With which Chile swore at your altars:

Either the tomb of the free will you be

Or the refuge against oppression

Either the tomb of the free will you be

Or the refuge against oppression

Either the tomb of the free will you be

Or the refuge against oppression

Or the refuge against oppression

Or the refuge against oppression

9.38am (5.38am Chile):

More hugs and handshakes with the greeting committee. Araya raises his fists in the air and makes some impromptu remarks, which are greeted by applause. He is now stretchered away giving the thumbs up. Incidentally, Araya is the brother-in-law of Florencio Ávalos Silva, whose brother is also down in the mine.

9.34am (5.34am Chile): Osman Araya is the sixth miner to rescued. Araya, in a blue helmet, is unstrapped and steps out of the Phoenix. Tearfully, he throws his arms around his wife. And there is a long hug.

9.29am (5.29am Chile): My colleagues in the Guardian's video department have put together some footage of the three miners being rescued, plus remarks from the Chilean president.

9.27am (5.27am Chile):

Amid the general euphoria, my colleague Sam Jones has picked up the odd dissenting voice is now cropping up on Twitter, accusing the Chilean government of failing to make the country's mines safe.

"Miners' rescue = sensationalism," says thetravellerx. "Where's the criticism of the Chilean government? How can the president be smiling?"

He also hit out at some of the media coverage: "What's going on with you and the rescue? It's just a smoke bomb to distract from the many decisions taken by the government."

9.24am (5.24am Chile): Osman Araya has boarded the capsule and is being winched up.

9.13am (5.13am Chile):

The first four miners have boarded the helicopter which will fly them to hospital in Copiapó, where they will undergo a battery of tests.

The capsule has reached the bottom of the shaft so those repairs did the trick.

9.07am (5.07am Chile):

The capsule has just gone back down. Meanwhile, Nasa scientist JD Polk has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme about the advice and expertise the space agency had shared with the Chilean rescuers. But he insisted the success of the operation – and the startlingly good health of the miners – was due mainly to the Chileans:

The credit really goes to the Chilean health authorities. They have done a remarkable job of tuning up the miners, getting their nutritional status and their general health optimised to decrease the amount of risk in the operation.

Polk said Nasa had made "myriad" recommendations – on everything from psychology to how to build the capsule – based on its space-flight expertise. The also advised on "fluid-loading protocols" for the men and recommended salt tablets to keep the miners' blood pressure up for the ascent.

He also warned that the greatest challenges facing the men were likely to be mental rather than physical: "The psychological aspects often take longer than the physical."

On the rescue itself, Polk said:

A lot of [our advice] had to do with talking to the miners on the way up [using] two-way audio-video. Fortunately for us, technology and communications have evolved to the point where we can do that, so you know you're not alone … Having someone else' voice to coach you through the moment – letting you know it's 100 more feet, 50 more feet – really helps the miners get through the process.

8.58am (4.58am Chile):

James Thompson, a senior psychology lecturer at University College London, is being interviewed on BBC News. He says the Chilean authorities have done a good job in taking care of the miners' psychological health. He says reality will hit in about two weeks when they are no longer in the limelight and they have to adjust to every day life again. This is what Dr Lesley Peekman-Kerr, a specialist in psychological trauma, told me in a piece I wrote about the psychological problems the miners may face:

When it's finished, that will be the most difficult time. People who've been kidnapped, for example, who have been separated from the real world, can find themselves overwhelmed, dealing with information overload and with delighted people welcoming them back to family life.

8.55am (4.55am Chile):

Live pictures are showing engineers working on the capsule – Sky is reporting that they are repairing it – before the sixth miner is rescued. Until now, the operation has gone very smoothly; this will put back the schedule a bit. But all seems well again as the capsule is once again dangling above the shaft ready to go down again.

8.46am (4.46am Chile):

Reports suggest the Bolivian president, Evo Morales, will arrive at the mine at 6.30am local time. He has, however, blown his big photo opportunity because he missed the rescue of Carlos Mamani, the only Bolivian miner among the 33. More on the love-in between Boliva and Chile: the Bolivian daily La Razón reports that relations between La Paz and Santiago are getting better and better. According to the Bolivian consul in the Chilean capital: "The level of trust achieved under Michelle Bachelet's government [in Chile] has not only been maintained, I think it's increased. Morales and Piñera have got together at all the summits and have even played football together. This closeness is a sign of the new times we're living in."

Chile Miners: Osman Isidro Araya Acuna. Photograph: Diario Atacama/EPA

8.20am (4.20am Chile):

Next up will be Osmán Araya. Aged 30, he has been among the most emotional of the miners. In a message to his wife he said: "I'm sending my greetings to Angelica. I love you so much, darling. Tell my mother, I love you guys so much. I'll never leave you, I will fight to the end to be with you."

Araya is the brother-in-law of Florencio Ávalos Silva, whose brother is also down in the mine.

8.16am (4.16am Chile):

A slight variation from the previous rescues. CNN reports that President Piñera - who has been milking the rescue for all it's worth - has left the minehead for a rest. He was not there to hug Sanchez. But the mining minister, Golborne, is still there.

8.11am (4:11 am Chile):

Jimmy Sanchez is the fifth miner to be brought to the surface. The youngest of the 33 men, his role has been a temperature monitor. He told his father he cried as he sang on the video that the men sent to the surface. Cheers go up as Sanchez emerges from the capsule. he hugs his father Juan. He doesn't look as hale and hearty as the others. Now he is being strapped into a stretcher before being taken into the field hospital.

8.03am (4.03 Chile):

Some more quotes from Sepulveda, courtesy of my colleague, Sam Jones, who actually knows Spanish.

"I'm very happy about all the lovely things they've done for us … I ask you not to treat us as celebrities … I want to be treated as a worker; as a miner," tweets Peru21pe.

7.52am (3.52am Chile):

Twitter suggests that the long enmity between Chile and Bolivia - which goes back all the way to the war of the Pacific in the late 19th century - may finally have been forgotten. Someone has written: "We're waiting for you, dear brother Carlos Mamani. You're now a real Chilean."

Of course they said things like that the big earthquake in Turkey some years ago when Greece offered to help. Then things reverted to the norm.

Jimmy Sanchez, Chilean miner Photograph: Diario Atacama/EPA

7.30am (3.30am Chile):

The underground camera in the workshop area of the mine is showing the next man getting ready for the 15-minute or so journey to safety. At 19, Jimmy Sanchez is the youngest of the 33. He had been working as a miner for only five months.

Sepulveda is talking now, flanked by his family. "I'm really proud of the government that we have," he says, "and of the workers and especially of our company."

7.22am (3.22am Chile):

The second miner, Sepulveda - the official spokesman from underground - is entering the hospital in Copiapó, smiling and looking incredibly relaxed. You wouldn't have thought he'd be trapped for 69 days.

This is Mark Tran taking over from Matthew Weaver who has been at the computer since midnight. Thank you Matt.

7.08am(7.08am Chile):

Mamani has made it up. Veronica and the the waiting politicians clutch Bolivian flags.

Mamani gets out and goes to his knees crossing himself before embracing his wife. She looks so pleased. "Welcome to the surface," says Piñera, who passes on greetings from Morales who is expected later.

Carlos Mamani is the fourth to be rescued. His wife Veronica had initiatly complained publicly about the Bolivian government's attitude towards her and her family. But she changed her opinion after meeting Morales. His father-in-law Johnny Quispe was one of the last men to escape the San Jose mine before it collapsed. Quispe said: "I'm 80% sure he will be OK. I will only be 100 per cent sure when I'm holding him in my arms".

7.01am(3.01am Chile):

Here comes the fourth miner. The pattern is becoming familiar now. The wife of the trapped miner, in this case Veronica, has been invited to approach the rescue capsule as it emerges from the shaft.

At first glance she looks unconcerned - she is sipping a hot drink from a foam cup. But when the camera moves in for a close up she looks tense.

6.38am(2.38am Chile):

There was some thought of making Mamani the first to go up. But he was bumped back for political reasons.

"We can't put him first because then the Bolivians will think we are using him as a test of the system," a source told Rory Carroll and Jonathan Franklin.

6.34am(2.34am Chile):

Morales has promised Mamani a stretch of land when he returns to Bolivia. He also offered to take him home on the presidential plane. But so far there's been no sign of Morales, according to Chilean journalist Jorge Garreton.

Chile Miners: Carlos Mamani Solis. Photograph: Diario Atacama/EPA

6.16am(2.05am Chile):

Next up will be Carlos Mamani Soliz, who as a Bolivian is the only non-Chilean in the group. He had only been working at the mine for four days when the accident happened.

The Bolivian president Evo Morales was due to appear at the mine today to greet him.

6.05am(2.05am Chile):

Here's comes Juan Illanes. His wife approached the capsule looking very cheerful. Piñera is there again, he seems intent on meeting every miner.

"It was like a cruise," Illanes as he emerges from the capsule. Lots of hugs for the rescuers and the politicians. He too looks in remarkably good shape but is also taken away on a stretcher.

Juan Illanes is the third miner to be rescued. A former soldier he is credited with maintaining discipline among the miners. He has a wife and a son who is studying engineering. After celebrating his birthday over a video link, his wife, Baeza Illanes, said: "This year it's difference because he's further away than ever in the conditions he's in now. But his whole family is sending him lots of strength and love, because he knows we're all supporting him."

5.52am(1.52am Chile):

My new friend Pedro Alonso from Santiago, emails to point out that Sepulveda wasn't just handing out any old rocks. They contained gold, he says.

5.48am(1.48am Chile):

The mine cam is showing Illanes getting ready for his ascent. His fellow miners are shown casually watching and waiting. Some are dressed only in boxer shorts.

5.43am(1.43am Chile):

The mining ministry's Flickr page has some wonderful images of the rescue so far.

5.34am(1.34am Chile):

The first two rescues seem to go very smoothly. At almost an hour apart the operation is right on schedule.

Chile Miners: Juan Illanes Palma. Photograph: Diario Atacama/EPA

The next man due to go up is Juan Illanes a 52-year-old former soldier who likes mending cars. His brother says he has a strong character formed by his time in the military. He is credited with maintaining discipline in the mine.

5.17am(1.17am Chile):

A second paramedic is being readied to be lowered into the mine. The third miner to be rescued will be Juan Illanes. While we wait here's Rory's account of the first rescue.

5.15am(1.15am Chile):

Mario Sepulveda is the second miner to be brought to the surface. He is 39 years old and married with two children. A union activist he used his video commentaries to criticise the owners of the mine. His wife Elvira described her husband as a born leader. "He's a braveheart. He is never ashamed to say anything to anyone... He never trusted this mine."

5.09am(1.04am Chile):

Sepulveda arrives grinning in his sunglasses. He hugs his wife and then takes out pieces of rock from a bag he took with him from the mine. He presents the rocks to the rescue workers and the mining minister. There are great scenes as he leads rescue workers in chants of Long Live Chile, while punching the air vigorously. He looks very fit and well, but he is still taken away on a stretcher to be checked out by medics.

5.04am(1.04am Chile):

All eyes are on the winch again as we wait for Sepulveda, the second miner to be rescued. His wife Elvira is being comforted by President Piñera (he's everywhere).

4.54am(12.54am Chile):

Here's video from AP of that wonderful moment that took place about 45 minutes ago.

4.44am(12.44am Chile):

Footage from the camera in the mine shows that paramedic has arrived at foot of the shaft.

Chile Miners: Mario Sep lveda Espina. Photograph: Diario Atacama/EPA

The next miner to be rescued will be Mario Sepulveda. He is known to the group as "the presenter" for his role in compiling and narrating video diaries. He is thought to be the miner most likely to become a media star after all this is over.

The camera from the mine shows him being fitted out in a green waterproof suit, of the kind that will be issue to all the miner. It is designed to let their skin breathe as they ascend.

4.31am(12.31am Chile):

President Piñera describes the rescue as a "miracle". He says adversity brings strength to Chileans. "Some people lost their faith, but some never lost it. We have not cracked. We promised to find them and we have. To bring them out safe and sound was the last promise to them."

Piñera says the Avalos family hug will live forever in the memory of Chileans. "Thank you for transmitting your faith and hope," he said.

"This rescue effort has been so wonderful. The Chilean people have shown the rest of the world what they are capable of," Piñera says.

4.27am(12.27am Chile):

With one up, 32 to go, a paramedic is lowered down the shaft for the next rescue.

4.14am(12.14am Chile):

Florencio Avalos is the first miner to be brought to the surface. Married with two children, Florencio has been trapped along with his brother, 29-year-old Renan. He was chosen to go first because he is good physical shape. While in the mine he was been responsible for filming the video messages of the miners. "The hour has come," his father Alfonso Avalos said earlier.

4.11am(12.11am Chile):

Here he is. Florencio Avalos has made it out of the mine safe and well. He clambers out of the capsule and hugs his daughter and tearful family. It's a fantastic moment. He goes on to hug the president and the rescue workers.

4.04am(12.04am Chile):

The winch wheel is slowing turning bring the first trapped miner to the surface. Florencio Avalos is travelling to freedom at about 1m per second. Agonising.

3.59am(11.59pm Chile):

Rory tweets:

"And up Avalos goes. Los 33 about to become 32. A bang at camp hope. Confetti."

3.54am(11.54pm Chile):

Florencio Avalos has entered the capsule and is expected to reach the surface in 15 to 20 minutes.

Alfonso, his father, was just seen fleeing from a media scrum at the surface.

3.39am(11.39pm Chile):

Hugs over, González starts instructing the miners on what to do. Piñera, watching the pictures with his wife Cecilia Morel, is shown praying and smiling.

3.36am:(11.36pm Chile)

Amazing TV pictures from a camera in the mine show the capsule arriving at the bottom of the shaft. González gets out and hugs the miners 700m underground.

3.27am:(11.27pm Chile)

President Piñera is congratulating rescue workers at the top of the shaft. They then break into a rousing rendition of the Chilean anthem. The BBC points out that a paramedic will also be lowered into the shaft before the first miner emerges. So it could take up to an hour before we see Avalos.

3.21am:(11.21pm Chile)

González is in audio contact with the rescue team. He said everything is OK just after he disappeared from view. The first trapped miner, Florencio Avalos, should be up in the next half an hour.

This is a bit like waiting for the birth of a child: lots of anxious hanging around hoping for a moment of relief and joy, but at the same time worrying that something will go wrong.

3.17am:(11.17pm Chile)

TV pictures show a close up of González as he is strapped into the capsule. He looks a brave man. His fellow rescue workers slap the capsule and give it a kick. And he is lowered down.

3.08am: (11.08pm Chile)

Manuel González has entered the capsule to applause from rescue workers. President Piñera wishes him luck. This is the start of the rescue proper. The capsule is being loaded with oxygen tanks.

2.56am: (10.56pm Chile)

Miguel Fort, one of those in charge of the rescue, told local radio that the first rescuer will reach the miners at 11.30pm local time, according to La Tercera. It also names Manuel González as that rescuer.

2.47am: (10.47pm Chile)

The first rescuer to be lowered down will be Manuel González, according to Chile's English language news site the Santiago Times.

2.40am:(10.40pm Chile)

The capsule, which is being tested again with no one inside, faces a twisty ride, according to Rory Carroll and Jonathan Franklin.

On its journey to the surface, the capsule will have to twist up to a dozen times through curves of 28-inch (78cm) diameter.Video inspections showed the shaft's lower walls to be firm, smooth rock, eliminating the need to line them, which would have taken days and risked blockages.

2.31am:(10.31pm Chile)

What's the hold up? Various theories are being put forward. Sasa Petricic a journalist with CBC TV tweets that there's a "minor problem" with the winch.

El Pais says the door of the capsule has been damaged.

2.16am:(10.16pm Chile)

The engineers have got the socket set out to make more adjustments to the capsule. A rescue worker was supposed to go down in the next test run. But it lowered again with no one inside.

Meanwhile, there's talk of the first miner being rescued within the next hour.

10.15am: "Don't worry about the goalkeeper," the Australian coach tells his charges. Fair enough, but that's easier said than done when the keeper all but fills the goals, just eight yards away. Both teams look exhausted.

1.37am:(9.37pm Chile)

A preliminary list of the order that the miners will be rescued has been published by the website of Chilean paper La Tercera.

Here it is:

GRUPO 1

1. Florencio Ávalos Silva

2. Mario Sepúlveda Espinace

3. Juan Illanes Palma

4. Carlos Mamani Soliz GRUPO 2

5. Jimmy Sánchez Lagues

6. Osmán Araya Araya

7. José Ojeda Vidal

8. Claudio Yañez Lagos

9. Mario Gómez Heredia

10. Alex Vega Salazar

11. Jorge Galleguillos Orellana

12. Edison Peña Villarroel

13. Carlos Barrios Contreras

14. Víctor Zamora Bugueño

15. Víctor Segovia Rojas

16. Daniel Herrera Campos GRUPO 3

17. Omar Reygadas Rojas

18. Esteban Rojas Carrizo

19. Pablo Rojas Villacorta

20. Darío Segovia Rojo

21. Yonni Barrios Rojas

22. Samuel Ávalos Acuña

23. Carlos Bugueño Alfaro

24. José Henríquez González

25. Renán Ávalos Silva

26. Claudio Acuña Cortés

27. Franklin Lobos Ramírez

28. Richard Villarroel Godoy

29. Juan Aguilar Gaete

30. Raúl Bustos Ibáñez

31. Pedro Cortez Contreras

32. Ariel Ticona Yáñez

33. Luis Urzúa Iribarren

1.29am:(9.29pm Chile)

The capsule is being prepared for its final test run. Piñera is watching over the operation as the engineers make final adjustments.

And it's off down the shaft. When it emerges it will be empty - this is just a test.

1.20am:(9.20pm Chile)

Here's the latest on the capsule tests, according to a tweet from the Independent's Guy Adams.

"Capsule will do one dry run empty. Then a rescuer will go down and come up again. Then we'll get cracking. Hopefully."

1.13am:(9.13pm Chile)

The first four miners to be rescued will be Florencio Ávalos, Mario Sepulveda, Juan Illanes and Carlos Mamani, according to a live blog by New York Times citing NBC News.

1.09am:(9.09pm Chile)

Rory Carroll has been gauging the mood in Camp Hope.

Rory Carroll byline. Photograph: Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images

As the sun set and temperatures dropped to near freezing families lit fires and cast anxious glances at a large outdoor TV screen showing engineers tinkering with the capsule. "The hour has come," said Alfonso Avalos, 53, the father of Florencio, who was designated to be the first miner out. Relatives gathered around the flames began to cry.

Police closed roads to the mine after dusk to protect the night vision of helicopter pilots who were due to fly the freed men to a hospital in the nearby town of Copiapo. They also wanted to leave roads empty in case a medical emergency required ambulances to race to Copiapo over the twisting, gravel roads.

Evo Morales, Bolivia's president, delayed his arrival at the San Jose mine by several hours.

12.51am:(8.51pm Chile)

CNN has built their own Phoenix capsule. "You feel like you're in some really bad telephone booth," says reporter Jonathan Mann.

12.39am:(8.39pm Chile)

The Phoenix capsule is still being tinkered with at the top of the rescue shaft. But there is talk of the first miner being up in 90 minutes.

12.24am:(8.24pm Chile)

As expected Luis Urzua, the shift foreman and leader of the group, will be the last miner to be rescued, according to an update from the Spanish newspaper El Pais, citing Chilean TV.

12.07am:(8.07pm Chile)

Barack Obama has sent a message of support.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the brave miners, their families, and the men and women who have been working so hard to rescue them," he said.

Morning all, this is Matthew Weaver taking over from Adam, who has been been working since 8am (yesterday). Thanks Adam.

12.00pm: (8.00pm Chile)

"Is the terminal in optimum condition?," a journalist asks Golbourne.

He says it is in good nick, but must be tested thoroughly. He refuses to name the rescuer who will travel down first.

The capsule will be raised vertically soon, but only to work on the electrics inside. It will then be lowered, empty, fully down the tunnel, before a marine is lowered slowly down inside.

This rescuer will be tasked with looking at the walls of the tunnel as he is lowered to check for any major faults, before the rescue of the miners can completely begin.

Golbourne says he still hopes to have some miners out by the end of the day – it's now four hours until midnight in Chile.

11.51pm: (7.51pm Chile)

Laurence Golbourne, the Chilean mining minister, is speaking live on television. He says it will be some two hours before the rescue begins – rather later than the media (us included) have been reporting.

The communications system still needs to be hooked up, Golbourne says, and the capsule tested thoroughly before one of the rescuers travels slowly down the tunnel.

11.34pm: (7.34pm Chile)

• rorycarroll72 Rescuers given medical details of each miner before descending. Final tweaks to capsule.

11.25pm: (7.25pm Chile)

The rescue capsule – the Phoenix, to give it its full name – is being prepared at the neck of the tunnel.

The Phoenix is quite a piece of kit. It weighs around 250kg, and is fitted out with oxygen tanks and a mask, and a camera pointed at the face of the ascenders/descender. The base of the capsule can be released and the miner winched back down the tunnel should it become stuck.

It is also fitted with a two-way audio link between the miner and the surface team. The capsule has two sets of spring-loaded rubber wheels, to keep it running smoothly down the tunnel.

11.12pm: (7.12pm Chile)

Rumours coming from the mine that the Bolivian man, Carlos Mamani, will be the third man to come up the mine. (No news on the second as yet).

10.59pm: (6.59pm Chile)

Rory is tweeting from the mine: "Rescuers' descent imminent. 'The hour has come', say families."

You can follow him @rorycarroll72

Rory Carroll byline. Photograph: Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images

10.41pm: (6.41pm Chile)

Rory Carroll, the Guardian's South America correspondent, is at the San Jose mine. Of the 2,000 plus journalists at media stampede he writes: "when does a story become a circus?"

There are, as it happens, clowns here, to entertain the miners' children. But a more compelling spectacle is on offer, such as the sight of Fox TV, CNN, ABC, CBS and any number of three-lettered networks jostling and hurling questions at Carolina Lobos, 25, talking about her father 700 metres below. What will you say to him? Will he work in mines again? Will he sign a movie deal? Do you have a boyfriend? She looked at the mob as if it was mad. When the gold and copper mine collapsed on 5 August the international media barely blinked. China's mining tragedies were much bigger. All that changed when the men were confirmed alive 17 days later and a rescue operation cranked up for a slow-motion, earthbound version of saving the astronauts in Apollo 13.

Chile Miners: Florencio Avalos Silva. Photograph: Diario Atacama/EPA

10.18pm: (6.18pm Chile)

We're still expecting Florencio Ávalos, 31, to be the first miner in the rescue capsule. His brother, Renán, is also in the mine, along with his brother-in-law, Osman Araya.

Florencio has worked in the mine for over three years, and has been acting as cameraman and second-in-command to shift leader Luis Urzúa.

You can read profiles of all 33 of the miners on our interactive guide to the rescue.

10.09pm: (6.09pm Chile)

• @WilliamsJon Chilean government to post pictures of rescue "as-it-happens" on Flickr: http://bit.ly/avoMdW

If you'd like to share any useful links for following the rescue attempt then please get in touch with me on Twitter – @AdamGabbatt

9.54pm: (5.54pm Chile)

President Piñera says he is sure the miners "will not be the same people they were before the accident", and is sure the people of Chile is the same.

The country has learnt from the challenges, he says. The speech becomes more wide-ranging, as Piñera – clad in a red jacket with his white hard hat set in front of him, and his wife stood beside him – says he hopes Chile will "move mountains", becoming the first South American country to defeat poverty.

9.49pm: (5.49pm Chile)

Piñera says the Bolivian President Evo Morales will arrive at the mine in the morning. One of the men, 23-year-old Carlos Mamani, is from Bolivia.

Mamani had only been working at the mine for four days when the accident happened.

The Chilean president says the rescue will begin tonight, and will last between 24 and 48 hours.

9.46pm: (5.46pm Chile)

Piñera will be next to the tunnel when the miners emerge, he says. He will be there to oversee that the rescue operation is going well.

He says the Chilean government sought the best technology when the tragedy first occurred. It also brought the men's families to the mine.

The president says he wants to thank God for being with the men all through the last 68 days.

9.41pm: (5.41pm Chile)

He says he hopes that in a few hours the men will be safe. Piñera praises the faith and bravery of the miners. He says it is that which has made "this miracle possible".

He says that he hopes that within two hours the rescue will be underway.

9.38pm: (5.38pm Chile)

The Chile president, Sebastián Piñera, has arrived at the San Jose mine in the last hour to witness the rescue attempt. He is addressing the media now.

9.25pm: (5.25pm Chile)

Luis Urzua, the shift foreman trapped underground with 32 other Chilean miners, who has taken much of the praise for the wellbeing of the team under his command, has exclusively told the Guardian he was humbled by the men's ability to stay united. Jonathan Franklin, our man in Camp Hope at the San Jose man, reports:

Urzua, who has become a national hero in Chile and is expected to be the last to leave the mine after some 10 weeks underground, said in an exclusive interview: "This was a group with different personalities and manners of being. They're different characters." "We have had a stage here in our lives that we never planned for and I hope to never live again like this, but that's the life of a miner." Urzua has been widely credited with keeping the men alive during the first 17 days, when he rationed food, giving one spoonful of tuna to each of the miners every 48 hours. Urzua was also instrumental in maintaining a sense of order and purpose underground – a move that Nasa specialists considered key to maintaining group unity and individual purpose in situations of extreme confinement. "We had to be strong, all the workers in the mine fulfilled their roles, as journalists, as spokesmen, and we worked hard for our own rescue," said Urzua, when asked how he managed to keep the 33 men organised.

9.15pm: (5.15pm Chile)

So here we go. This morning the Guardian reported that Florencio Avalos, 31, an experienced miner in good physical shape, would be the first to make the 700m journey in the rescue capsule, and reports so far tonight continue to suggest this will be the case.

The process of bringing the 33 men above ground could begin as soon as 10pm UK time, 6pm in Chile, with the rescue potentially lasting up to 48 hours. We'll be live until – hopefully – each of the miners is brought to the surface safely.

9pm: (5pm Chile)

It has been two months since 33 Chilean miners were trapped nearly 700m underground when the copper mine in which they were working collapsed. Tonight, after 68 gruelling days, the rescue begins.

Their ordeal began on 5 August, when the roof of the mine, near Copiapo, 450 miles north of the Chilean capital Santiago, fell in.

Contact with the men was not established until 22 August, when it was discovered that they had survived the accident. They had kept themselves alive for 17 days by sipping tiny rations of milk and eating two small spoonfuls of tuna and a biscuit every 48 hours.

Three drills – Strata 950, Schramm T-130 and Rig 421 – were deployed to reach the men, and Schramm T-130 finally broke through on 9 October. The top part of the shaft then had to be lined with metal casing to enable the rescue capsule, the Phoenix, to run smoothly up and down.

Over the next two days the men will see daylight for the first time in nearly 10 weeks.

Rescue co-ordinators have classified the miners into three groups: the able, the weak and the strong. The miners will be evacuated in that order: a first group of fairly healthy men will test the rescue plan, and the procedure is expected to be well refined by the time the weakest are evacuated. The fittest men are expected to wait to the end, with the whole operation expected to take nearly two days.

The rescued men will be immediately taken to a field hospital for triage. The weakest will receive urgent medical attention and will either be kept on site for observation or flown by helicopter to a military base or local hospital.

After protests from family members, the government ceded to demands for immediate contact with the rescued men. A maximum of two members a family will be allowed to visit briefly as soon as each man is pulled to safety.

Our interactive guide to the rescue explains the complex procedure to haul them to the surface and includes profiles of all the miners. And we'll be bringing you all the latest news on the rescue operation here.