Emotional scenes as trapped Chile miners emerge
There are scenes of jubilation at the Chilean mine as the trapped men are reunited with their loved ones after 10 weeks underground – as people dance in celebration in nearby Copiapo.
Celebrations continued through the night as crowds cheered and waved Chilean flags to celebrate the rescue mission of the 33 trapped miners.
At Camp Hope, there were tearful reunions as anxious relatives and friends saw the miners face-to-face for the first time in 69 days.
The rescue mission to bring the trapped miners to the surface has been hailed a national triumph.
“I believe that Chile has fulfilled its promise to Chile. Because Chileans made a commitment to not let ourselves be defeated, to not give up,” Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera said.
“We have delivered. We committed to look for them until we found them. And we have delivered.
“And now we are delivering on the last part of the promise: to rescue them alive, alive and well.”
“This is a miracle from God. It means a great happiness for all of us, for Chile and for the entire world.”-Alberto Avalos, uncle of miners Florencio Avalos and Renan Avalos
Relatives held vigils over the past two months at Camp Hope as they prayed for the safe return of their loved ones.
But crowds who have joined them in support say they say they will not leave until the last miner reaches the surface.
One woman waiting for the rescued miners said she was “very happy” that the day to rescue the miners had finally arrived.
“I’m very happy, very joyful that the 33 are getting out. We have to wait until the last one is out, and only then we can leave.” she said.
Alberto Avalos, the uncle of miners Florencio Avalos and Renan Avalos, has acknowledged the support from people around the world.
“This is a miracle from God,” Mr Avalos said.
“It means a great happiness for all of us, for Chile and for the entire world, we know everybody is following this.
“We are happy but there are more, there are another 32 miners, among them Renan who is going to be number 25.”
Chile has taken extensive precautions to ensure the miners’ privacy, using a screen to block the top of the shaft from more than 1,000 journalists at the scene.
The Chilean government has also promised to provide ongoing care for the miners to make sure they have adequately readjusted to normal life.
But psychiatrists say they will take some time to recover.
Medics have warned some of the men are psychologically fragile and may struggle with stress for a long time after their rescue.
TV stations around the world were saturated with coverage of the rescue operation.
“Everyone is following the rescue step by step. We are a Catholic country and we see this as a real miracle,” said Maritza Gonzalez, a 50-year-old housewife in the capital city, Santiago.