Chile miners news

Fantastico! All miners are rescued now from the San Jose mine in Chile`s Atacama desert, north of Santiago.

This is the first time ever that there has been a successful conclusion to a rescue from this depth of mine. It is more than twice as deep as the next most successful rescue attempt in the world.

This story has really been a great triumph for all the Chilean people, and a source of pride in their nation.

Chile`s president says the country will never be the same again after the extraordinary rescue of the 33 miners trapped deep underground for 69 days.

He has promised a thorough review of the safety of all mines in the country, to try to avoid such a potential tragedy in the future. He has also challenged the miners to a football match when they are all fit!

Mario Sepulveda celebrates after reaching the surface, he had brought some rocks up from the mine as presents for the president and the rescue team! He was supposed to lie down on a stretcher to be carried by paramedics, but he was having none of that, he shouted and waved at the bystanders in jubilation. He later gave a lucid press conference where he expressed his thanks to everyone, and said how important it was to love your family and appreciate life with them.

A full view of the escape pod Fenix 2 and the pulley system with steel cable used to lower and raise the miners. It worked perfectly and the elevation time for the miners reduced to about nine and a half minutes.