Chilean miners honored
Associated Press
SANTIAGO, Chile
Thirty-three miners rescued after more than two months trapped underground were given a heroes’ welcome at the national palace Monday by President Sebastian Pinera, who embraced the men just as he did when they emerged one by one from the depths.
Clad in dark suits and some wearing the rock-star sunglasses they donned during the rescue to protect their eyes above ground, the miners received flags, medals commemorating Chile’s bicentennial and miniature replicas of the narrow, tubular capsule in which they were hauled to safety.
“The job was hard. They were days of great pain and sorrow,” said Luis Urzua, who was shift boss at the time of the tunnel collapse and continued to lead the miners as they cleared rock to help in their own rescue.
The men then emerged to wave to a cheering crowd gathered outside La Moneda palace in the capital, Santiago. Many had their photographs taken in front of the Phoenix 2 rescue capsule, which is on display there until its permanent home is decided.
Six rescuers who descended through the narrow escape shaft to prepare the men for the ascent also were commended.
Later, the miners donned white jerseys emblazoned with the Chilean flag for a friendly football match in the National Stadium against a team made up of Pinera, other government officials and rescuers.
Two weeks after being rescued, the men seemed energetic on the field and showed no apparent ill effects from the ordeal.
The men were buried some 2,300 feet below the surface in the San Jose mine by the Aug. 5 collapse, and the 69 days they spent before the rescue is the longest anyone has been trapped underground and lived.
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