With escape shaft finished, anticipation builds as trapped Chilean miners argue over who will go up the rescue route first and last
With escape shaft finished, anticipation builds as trapped Chilean miners argue over who will go up the rescue route first and last
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"I would like to illustrate what they are going through with a conversation we had yesterday," Health Minister Jaime Manalich told a press conference near the San Jose mine.
"I questioned them and mentioned we were working on an order in which they would be brought out. I said the order would be determined by technical factors.
And what was their reaction? 'Mr Minister, that's fine but I want to go last please.' And then another guy said, 'No, my friend, I said that I was going to be the last one up.'"
By being able to put aside their needs and wanting their colleagues to have a chance at freedom and fresh air first, "they have had a really commendable spirit, of solidarity and commitment to their friends," Manalich said.
As to their health, the minister said they were doing well, and were in "very good shape". The people at the bottom of the mine were healthy people the day of the accident.
In addition "they are mature people and very self-sufficient people, who have been able to face a test the likes of which probably no one has in human history", Manalich said.
The miners will begin a special liquid diet about 12 hours ahead of the rescue operation expected to start on Wednesday.
The aim is to reduce any nausea and vomiting during their removal from the depths of the mine, while still keeping up their caloric intake.
Engineers meanwhile were reinforcing the shaft that will be used to finally free the men.
Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said the men could begin the ascent, one by one, on Wednesday.
The first group of miners to exit will be several of the strongest men, followed by a group considered the weakest due to chronic health problems, officials said.
If the timetable holds, all the miners could expect to end their ordeal of nearly two-and-a-half months by Friday.
They have been trapped deep beneath the desert floor after a partial collapse that blocked the mine exit, surviving longer than anyone has before under similar circumstances.
Hundreds of journalists and camera crews from around the world have converged on the mine, hoping to capture the first images of the miners at the surface.
65 days
The number of days the Chilean miners have been trapped inside the San Jose mine
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