Rescue of Chile Miners to Begin Wednesday

Chilean officials plan to begin rescue operations Wednesday for miners trapped underground since August 5. The rescue capsule, called Phoenix 1, has already completed a successful test run. Rescue workers are waiting on the concrete base of the winch system to harden before sending Phoenix 1 down for the first trip.

Miners with technical knowledge will be the first to be rescue so they can help with the rescue operation. Those with health problems will ascend next. The healthiest miners will go last. During their ascent, the miners' vital signs will be monitored by a belt. Each man will wear green coveralls embroidered with their names.

Each trip through the shaft will take about 15 minutes. The miners are trapped nearly half a mile underground. The men will be monitored at a hospital set up above ground before they are taken to a hospital in Copiapo.

"I hope that by tomorrow [Tuesday] or Wednesday, the miners will not only be able to see sunlight, but embrace their wives and girlfriends, parents, mothers and children," Chilean President Sebastian Pinera told CNN on Monday. "We have been with the miners since the accident and will remain with them once they are rescued."

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