91热爆

14 October 2010 Last updated at 10:16

Jubilation as Chile mine rescue ends

After a final rescue operation lasting some 22 hours, the last miner trapped in northern Chile to come to the surface, Luis Urzua, is greeted by President Sebastian Pinera.

President Pinera had been on hand when the first miner, Florencio Avalos, emerged in the early hours of Wednesday after more than two months underground and a full rescue operation that lasted six weeks.

For the miners' relatives, many of whom had been camping at the mine for weeks, the wait had been fraught with worry right up until the final moments.

But each family's tension was released as their loved ones emerged, one by one, from the narrow escape tunnel.

For Mario Gomez, the oldest of the miners, it was the second time in his life he had been trapped underground. He said he never lost faith that the group would be rescued.

After all the men were rescued, the party really began for relatives, friends and residents of the nearby town of Copiapo.

The rescue operation, in a remote region of the Atacama Desert, was witnessed by hundreds of journalists.

The rescue has reawakened national pride, with the president saying Chile was "more united and stronger than ever".

And politicians have been keen to use the rescue to trumpet Chile's transformed international image.

The miners have more immediate concerns, and they were taken for medical check-ups in Copiapo shortly after being freed.

Meanwhile, the owners of the San Jose copper and gold mine have said it will not be reopened after the collapse.

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Latin America & Caribbean

Jubilation as Chile mine rescue ends

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