With remarkable speed - and flawless execution - miner after miner climbed into a cramped cage deep beneath the Chilean earth, was hoisted through 2,000 feet of rock and saw precious sunlight after the longest underground entrapment in history.By 1.55am BST all 33 had been pulled to freedom, as the operation was completed in half the expected time.
They were closely followed by the rescue workers who had taken the capsule - nicknamed Phoenix - into the mine to oversee the evacuation. The last man out was Manuel Gonzalez, a mine rescue specialist and father-of-four, who have bravely volunteered to be the first to make the descent and the first human to test out the Phoenix 2 capsule.
He waved at the cameras, bowed and offered up a prayer before clambering into the capsule unaided for the last time and heading for the surface.
There were then scenes of jubilation as he emerged for the last time at 4.33am as other rescue workers jokingly asked him if he had turned out the lights and made the bed.
After 69 days underground, including two weeks during which they were feared dead, the miners emerged to the cheers of exuberant Chileans and before the eyes of a transfixed world. (Daily Mail)
