The miners are reported to be in good health. They were wearing dark glasses to protect their eyes from daylight. On Sunday, officials said the rescue operation at the small copper mine had been delayed by fresh rock collapses.

Eyewitnesses quoted said they left the mine one by one wearing blankets. One had difficulty walking and was wearing an oxygen mask. “We told each other jokes to keep up our hopes and ran from one place to another to keep warm,” said one of the rescued miners, Edwin Bellido Sarmiento.