Global General

Chile's miners rescue could finish on Wednesday night

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-14 05:26

SAN JOSE MINE, Chile - The rescue of 33 miners trapped in a copper mine in the north of the country since August 5 could finish on Wednesday night local time, Chile's Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said.

"We have advanced faster than expected, so it is very probable that we finish the process tonight," Golborne said.

"The situation has satisfied us, there is not any delay in this process and we have advanced faster. That makes us think that the rescue could finish tonight," he added.

"The capsule is in good state and it just got maintenance after certain rescues to avoid any problem," he said.

"I expect the second half of the process to continue without problems," he said.
He also said that the last miner to be rescue would be Luis Urzua, who is the leader of the 33 miners.

The rescue of the miners began on Tuesday night about 11:20 p.m. local time. Florencio Avalos was the first miner lifted to the surface.

The miners had spent more than two months, some 700 meters underground, after the San Jose mine they were working at collapsed.