12 Chilean miners emerge in problem-free rescue

FRANK BAJAK and VIVIAN SEQUERA Yahoo! News 10/12/2010 19:36

The miners emerged like clockwork, jubilantly embracing wives, children and rescuers and looking remarkably composed Wednesday after languishing for 69 days in the depths of a mine that easily could have been their tomb.

The anxiety that had accompanied the final days of preparation melted away at 12:11 a.m. 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 7-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 as he awaited the air force helicopter ride to a nearby hospital where all the miners were to spend 48 hours under medical observation.

By midmorning, 12 men had been pulled from the mine at a methodical pace in roughly 10 hours, putting the rescue on track to end before the sun rises Thursday, barring any major setbacks.

As it traveled down and up the 2,041-foot escape shaft, the capsule was not rotating as much as officials expected, allowing for faster trips, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said. The rescues came as quickly as 39 minutes apart.