Miracle in Chile

After more than two months underground, all 33 miners have now emerged from the collapsed Chilean copper mine in the Atacama desert to the excitement and relief of waiting family and friends.

Rescue teams lifted the miners to the surface one by one in a narrow, missile-like capsule, nicknamed Phoenix. The operation, which rescuers originally said would take around two days, finished in 22 hours. Miners who were told they would be lucky to make it out by Christmas now all saw daylight by the third week of October.

Each miner stepping out of the capsule was greeted by three family members - and President Sebastian Pinera - before being seen by waiting doctors and flown to a triage centre for at least two days of check-ups.

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The 33rd and last miner to be rescued was Luis Urzua, 54, the shift supervisor who organised the miners and was credited as a calming presence in the mine. He reportedly would not let anyone eat until everyone's food had arrived through the rescue shaft.

The last of the rescue specialists involved in the extraction was lifted to safety early on Thursday, ending the ordeal.

The 32 Chileans and one Bolivian trapped in the San Jose mine in northern Chile were initially believed to have perished, but they had found refuge in an emergency shelter and survived by strictly rationing their food and water.

On Wednesday, Evo Morales, the Bolivian president, visited Carlos Mamani, his rescued compatriot, at the triage centre.

'All healthy'

Officials decided the order in which the miners would be pulled up based on their health and capacities. The first group would be the healthiest, the middle group comparatively infirm, and the last group also healthy.

Rescued miners

Florencio Avalos, 31
Mario Sepulveda, 40
Juan Illanes, 52
Carlos Mamani, 24
Jimmy Sanchez, 19
Osman Araya, 30
Jose Ojeda, 47
Claudio Yanez, 34
Mario Gomez, 63
Alex Vega, 31
Jorge Galleguillos, 55
Edison Pena, 34
Carlos Barrios, 27
Victor Zamora, 33
Victor Segovia, 48
Daniel Herrera, 27
Omar Reygadas, 56
Esteban Rojas, 44
Pablo Rojas, 45
Dario Segovia, 48
Yonni Barrios, 50
Samuel Avalos, 43
Carlos Bugueno, 27
Jose Henriquez, 54
Renan Avalos, 29
Claudio Acuna, 44
Franklin Lobos, 53
Richard Villarroel, 26
Juan Aguilar, 49
Raul Bustos, 40
Pedro Cortez, 24 or 26
Ariel Ticona, 29
Luis Urzua, 54

The first miner to be rescued was Florencio Avalos, a 31-year-old driver, chosen because he was considered among the most physically and mentally fit of the group.

He smiled broadly as he emerged and hugged his weeping seven-year-old son and wife. He then embraced president Pinera, who had been at the scene overseeing the rescue operation.

Mario Sepulveda, a 39-year-old electrical specialist, was the second to reach the surface.

After hugging his wife, he jubilantly handed souvenir rocks to laughing rescuers.

"I'm so happy!" Sepulveda yelled, punching his fist in the air and hugging everyone in sight.

The miners were pulled up through a 600m-deep shaft in a rescue capsule wide as the shoulders of an average built miner, designed specifically for the operation.

The miners communicated with rescue teams using an intercom in the capsule.

It took only 16 minutes for miners to be pulled up the shaft. It was originally estimated that the journey would take half an hour, though the final ascents lasted only around nine.

Avalos began his journey after a mining rescue expert and a paramedic were lowered down the rescue tunnel to prepare the miners for their rescue.