First Miners Emerge in Chile Mine Rescue

The rescue operation to free miners trapped underground in Chile for more than 2 months began late Tuesday night. The first miner to emerge in the Phoenix 1 capsule was 31-year-old Florencio Ávalos. Rescue workers and family members of the trapped miners cheered as Avalos was pulled from the capsule just after midnight.

As of 7 Wednesday morning, 9 of the 33 miners had been rescued. Each trip of Phoenix 1 takes about 15 minutes. Once above ground, the miners are given a few minutes with family members before they are taken to a makeshift hospital and then flown to a hospital in Copiapo, Chile for 48 hours of observation.

The men have been trapped 2,000 feet underground since the mine collapsed on August 5. On August 22, the men attached a note on a probe lowered by rescuers. The note said all 33 men were fine and awaiting rescue.

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