Messages of love from trapped miners

The men were shown shirtless because of the heat in the mine and wearing what looked like white surgical trousers, special clothing sent down to help keep them dry.

Most were upbeat, expressing gratitude to their families and the rescuers for the support they are receiving via handwritten notes sent to them through three small bore holes.

Food, water, medicine and other goods have also been sent to them through the three holes.

But when it came time to speak about their wives and children, many of the men broke down.

"I'm sending my greetings to Angelica. I love you so much, darling," said 30-year-old Osman Araya, as his voice choked and he began to cry. "Tell my mother, I love you guys so much. I'll never leave you, I will fight to the end to be with you."

Araya and 32 fellow miners were trapped on August 5 when the main shaft of the San Jos gold and silver mine in northern Chile collapsed.

They only gained contact with the outside after 17 days – during which they rationed 48-hours' worth of food and dug for water in the ground.

Yesterday, the men equalled a mark set by three miners who survived 25 days trapped in a flooded mine in southern China last year. Few other rescues have taken more than two weeks.

In the video, one miner explained to the family of 28-year-old Ariel Ticona that he did not want to appear on camera – apparently because he is shy – but that he was sending his love to them and that, according to an unidentified speaker, he "is super happy and he is super, super, super well!"

The latest video, in contrast to the first 45-minute video released by the government on Thursday, showed little of the men's surroundings. Instead, it appeared meant as a video postcard for loved ones, as each of the 12 men who spoke to the camera had about 30 seconds to talk.

At one point, the camera panned to a larger group of men, and several animated, joking voices could be heard throughout the tape.

One unidentified man, who squinted in the light shining on his face as did most of the miners, said he was thankful "for all your efforts out there".

Another man said he was doing much better because of the food and water the miners had received.

The miners will have to help in their own escape by clearing thousands of tons of rock that will fall as a rescue hole is drilled toward them.

"The miners are going to have to take out all that material as it falls," Andres Sougarret, Codelco's head engineer on the operation, said.

After drilling three small bore holes in recent weeks to create lines of communication with the miners and deliver basic food and medicine, Chile's state-owned Codelco mining company was due to begin boring a rescue hole yesterday that will be wide enough to pull the men up

through 2,300ft of earth.