MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mission accomplished: “Long live Chile” echoed all along the country

President Piñera ® with the last miner to emerge and leader of the group Luis Urzua

Chile's president said his country will never be the same again after the extraordinary rescue of the 33 miners trapped deep underground for 69 days. Sebastian Piñera said he thought Chile was “more united and stronger than ever”, and “more valued” worldwide.

There were earlier ecstatic scenes as Luis Urzua, 54, the last miner out, emerged at the top of the rescue shaft. The 22-hour operation saw each man being winched up in a narrow Phoenix capsule and congratulated by President Piñera and the First Lady Cecilia Morel. The miners have now been taken to hospital.

All have severe dental infections, and some have eye problems as a result of living in the dirt and darkness of the mine. One has been diagnosed with pneumonia but his condition is not thought to be serious.

Health Minister Jaime Manalich nevertheless stressed that all appeared to be in far better condition than expected.

Camp Hope, a rather drab and dry affair in the middle of the Atacama desert, erupted in an explosion of colour and sound the moment the capsule carrying Luis Urzua, the last of the 33 miners to be rescued, broke the surface.

Champagne corks popped, balloons in the red, white and blue of the Chilean flag were released, and a rain of confetti and champagne descended on families, police and journalists alike.

Sisters, mothers, fathers and brothers, everyone hugged and danced in front of the screen relaying the images from the rescue shaft some 500m up the hill. Their shouts of joy carried through the clear and cold night. As has become tradition, they then sang the national anthem, arms interlocked, their T-shirts with pictures of the drill which dug the rescue shaft, soaked in champagne.

President Piñera was waiting at the head of the 624m rescue shaft at 2155 on Wednesday local time when the capsule carrying Urzua emerged to jubilant cheers, songs and applause.

The shift supervisor at the San Jose mine, credited with helping the miners endure the early days of their ordeal, embraced the president and said: “We have done what the entire world was waiting for.”

“We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing”. He concluded saying “with no further news to report it’s your shift now, Mr. President”.

Mr Pinera replied: “You are not the same, and the country is not the same after this. You were an inspiration. Go hug your wife and your daughter.”

But before the president invited Urzua to stand next to him and following the traditional battle cry “Viva Chile, mierda”, (Long live Chile, shit) he led the crowd in singing the Chilean national anthem. Watching the rescue on a big screen nearby, the miners' friends and relatives were showered with champagne and confetti.

Six rescuers who were lowered into the mine to supervise the operation held up a banner saying “Mission accomplished.”

The last of them, Manuel Gonzalez - who was also the first rescuer to go down the shaft - returned to the surface just under two-and-a-half hours later. Before leaving the underground chamber, he turned to a video camera, bowed and waved in triumph.

In a televised address to the nation at the mine entrance, Mr Pinera said: “When the last miner exited the depths of the mine, I was moved as every Chilean was.”

“I want to thank Chilean men and women... who always had words of relief, gestures and smiles. We felt supported by all Chileans, and I want to say that today Chile is not the same country we had 69 days ago.”

“The miners are not the same people who got trapped on... 5 August. They have come out stronger, and they taught us a lesson. But Chile is not the same either.”

“I think Chile today is more united and stronger than ever, and I think Chile today is more respected and more valued in the whole world.

”What ended up as a real blessing from God started as a possible tragedy. But the unity, the faith, the compromise, the honesty, the solidarity of the Chileans in those 69 days makes us very proud,“ he added.

The rescue operation began shortly after 2315 on Tuesday with Mr Gonzalez being lowered down the 624m shaft.

Mr Gonzalez was supposed to return to the surface and report on the condition of the rescue shaft, before handing over to a paramedic. However, the miner Florencio Avalos instead got into the capsule and was hauled up.

The miners wore a ”bio-harness” designed for astronauts - which monitors their heart rate, breathing, temperature and oxygen consumption - and sunglasses to protect his eyes from the glare of the desert.

Mr Avalos reached the surface at 0010 on Wednesday and was greeted by his family, rescuers, President Piñera and the First Lady.

Over 1.600 reporters were at Camp Hope following events and the live television transmission had world coverage in some cases uninterrupted for 24 hours.

President Piñera who has seen his support ratings soar early Wednesday morning was joined by Bolivian president Evo Morales since one of the miners was Bolivian. However as the rescue operation continued successfully leaders from all over the world called to congratulate the miners, the rescue team, the president and the Chilean people who took to the streets to celebrate “the test of life” of the magic number of 33 miners on the 13th of the tenth month of 2010.