Chile rejoices as miners emerge from 69 days underground

Wed, Oct 13th 2010, 09:00 AM

It’s difficult to imagine a group of people happier than the miners rising from more than 2,000 feet underground in Chile or the family, loved ones and compatriots screaming “Chee-Lay, Chee-Lay, Chee-Lay” waiting for them to appear.

Strapped in a missile-shaped metal capsule for the solo journey to the surface, miners have been emerging safely since 12:11 this morning. Today's rescues are the deepest mine-rescue ever as well as the longest that miners have been trapped before being rescued.

Elizabeth Segovia, sister of one of the 33 trapped miners, is comforted by drilling machine operator Jeff Heart after the completion of the escape hole. Photo by REUTERS/Luis Hidalgo.

Elizabeth Segovia, sister of one of the 33 trapped miners, is comforted by drilling machine operator Jeff Heart after the completion of the escape hole. Photo by REUTERS/Luis Hidalgo. 

Some of the videos of the happy miners:

Live, streaming video coverage and updates from the BBC here

Five-minute video of the first two miners coming up and a graphic representation of the hour-long trip here

Video about the rescue process and how they decided who would go last here

Why the miners look so cool: Oakley donates $450 shades to protect them after two months in darkness

The latest news on the miners here

Will life ever be the same for Chilean miners? First will come the euphoria - the overflowing relief, the fizzing emotions of wives, girlfriends, parents and children, and the conviviality and celebration of a successful rescue. But after the party, the 33 Chilean miners will have to face the prospect of a return to their day-to-day lives, which will have been irrefutably changed forever. For more than two months, the men have been living

World captivated by Chile mine rescue It has been more than two months of darkness for the 33 miners, trapped more than 2,000 feet below the earth in Chile -- and last night the operations commenced to hoist these miners to safety. The collapse of the copper and gold mine in the Atacama Desert captured the world's attention, along with that of some of the foremost medical

Freed miner brings rocks for President The second of the 33 trapped Chilean miners to be rescued brought rocks with him from the underground cave as "presents". Mario Sepulveda, 40, emerged from the specially-made capsule to embrace his wife and other mining officials. As rescuers chanted his name, he told the Chilean president Sebastian Pinera: "Wait a minute I have a present, here you go."

Photos from MSNBC

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