Rescue of the 33 Chilean miners
“This story, that started as a possible tragedy, I hope it will end as a real blessing”, President Sebastián Piñera stated moments before he left to the San José mine to witness the rescue of the 33 miners, on october 12th.
The final stage of this operation lasted over 30 hours and all of the workers were brought safely to the surface, after 69 days trapped 700 meters below. Their relatives, the technical group in charge of the rescue and the Chief of State himself waited for them as they came out of the mine. The last miner ascending was Luis Urzúa, who was the leader of the group. He symbolically handed the shift over to President Piñera.
After receiving proper medical attention, all of the miners are healthy and back home with their families.