Chile celebrates as last miner is rescued

Chile celebrates as last miner is rescued

The whole of Chile celebrated on Wednesday as the last of the 33 miners who were trapped in the San Jose mine was hoisted above ground to end the rescue that drew the attention of the world.

Luis Urzua was the last man out from the group who were trapped 2,000 feet below the earth and endured 69 days of suffering just to survive.

Urzua embraced Chilean President Sebastian Pinera as he stepped out of the Phoenix rescue capsule. As shift captain, Urzua volunteered to be the last of the men to be rescued.

“Thank you very much for being strong enough to remain down there until last,” a rescuer told Urzua.

The rescue effort, including the design of the capsule and the flawless execution itself, has become a benchmark for mining rescue attempts in the future.

Relatives of the rescued men were smiling, crying, and shouting for joy as each of the men were brought to safety during the last 24 hours. Periodic chants of “Viva Chile!” were heard from the crowd.

“It was hard, that was a shift of 70 days. We had done an excellent job, we have done what the entire world was waiting for,” Urzua said.

Indeed, Chile and the rest of the world watched as the drama unfolded in what many consider as a display of the triumph of the human spirit.

Hundreds celebrated in the capital Santiago and other major cities in Chile as a fitting end to what was an arduous experience for the miners.

“Tonight we experienced a night we will never forget — full of emotion, full of joy,” said President Pinera.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Thursday October 14 2010, 6:55 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0