(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101009/ap_on_bi_ge/lt_chile_mine_collapseA way out, at last, for Chile's 33 trapped miners
By MICHAEL WARREN, Associated Press Writer
59 mins ago
SAN JOSE MINE, Chile – A drilling rig punched through to the underground purgatory where 33 miners have been trapped for 66 agonizing days under the Chilean desert, raising cheers, tears and hopes on Saturday.
Relatives waiting at "Camp Hope" on the surface waved Chilean flags and shouted with joy as word spread of the breakthrough, and one man frantically rang a bell even before a siren sounded to officially confirm that the escape shaft had reached the miners. They are still several days away from rescue: Engineers must first check the shaft and decide whether to reinforce it before pulling them to the surface.
"We feel an enormous happiness, now that i'm going to have my brother," said Darwin Contreras, whose brother Pedro, a 26-year-old heavy machine operator, is stuck down below. "When the siren rang out, it was overwhelming. Now we just have to wait for them to get out, just a little bit longer now."
The "Plan B" drill won a three-way race against two other drills to carve a hole wide enough for an escape capsule to pull the miners out one by one.
While "Plan A" and "Plan C" stalled after repeatedly veering off course, the "Plan B" drill reached the miners at a point 2,041 feet (622 meters) below the surface at 8:05 a.m., after 33 days of drilling.
Jeff Hart of Denver, Colorado, operated the drill, and said the entire rescue crew erupted with cheers when the T130 broke through.
"There is nothing more important than saving, possibly saving 33 lives. There's no more important job than that," Hart said. "We've done our part, now it's up to them to get the rest of the way out."
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Associated Press writers Vivian Sequera at the mine and Eva Vergara in Copiapo, Chile, contributed to this story.
I just put the high points here ... entire story at link
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