Miners' rescue has made our country stronger – president

CHILE'S president hailed the rescue operation to save 33 trapped miners for its impact in uniting his nation as he met the men now recovering in hospital.

President Sebastian Pinera posed with the miners, most of whom were wearing bathrobes and slippers, for a group photo in the hospital where they are being assessed.

Relatives were yesterday organising welcome-home parties following the amazing rescue that entranced people around the world and set off horn-blowing celebrations across the South American nation.

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Mr Pinera celebrated the rescue as an achievement that will bring Chile a new level of respect around the world.

The miners and the country will never be the same, he said.

"They have experienced a new life, a rebirth and so has Chile.

"We aren't the same that we were before the collapse on August 5. Today, Chile is a country much more unified, stronger and much more respected and loved in the entire world."

The billionaire businessman-turned-politician also promised "radical" changes and tougher safety laws.

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"Never again in our country will we permit people to work in conditions so unsafe and inhuman as they worked in the San Jose Mine, and in many other places in our country," said Mr Pinera, who took office in March as Chile's first elected right-wing president in a half-century.

None of the miners is suffering from shock despite their harrowing entrapment, a reflection of the care and feeding sent through a narrow borehole by a team of hundreds during their 69 days trapped underground. Even a team of psychologists helped keep them sane.

"All of them have been subjected to high levels of stress and most of them have tolerated it in a truly exceptional way," said Dr. Jorge Montes, deputy director of the Copiapo Regional Hospital. "We don't see any problems of a psychological or a medical nature."

"We were completely surprised," added Health Minister Jaime Manalich. "We called this a real miracle, because any effort we could have made doesn't explain the health condition these people have today."

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After weeks of fear, desperation and finally hope, the miners were pulled out one by one in a capsule that carried them through a narrow tube of solid rock beneath the Acatama desert during a marathon 23-hour rescue.

The drama both above and below the ground was played out across the globe, courtesy of TV networks invited to film on the surface and special video cameras that had been fitted underground to ensure the safety of the men.

The miners, their eyes hidden behind sunglasses to protect from the sun and glare of lights, emerged to tears and embraces from relatives.

All of them remain tense and spent a restless first night in the hospital, the doctors said.

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For many, what they experience next may be incomprehensible at first.

Honours and offers of jobs and even holidays poured in from around the world for men who walked into a mine on August 5 as workers doing a dirty job to support their children or buy a house. They were lifted out weeks later to find themselves international symbols of perseverance – as well as icons of patriotism at home.

Spain's Real Madrid football team invited the 33 to attend a game in their stadium.

Chile's football federation said it would offer a job with its youth teams to Franklin Lobos, a former national team player who had later found himself driving a taxi to make ends meet before he was caught in the mine collapse. It also said it was organising a "Copa 33" tournament in their honour.

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And a Greek mining company offered to fly each one, with a companion, for a week's holiday in the Mediterranean.

Key questions remain on safety

Amid the celebrations over the Chilean miners' rescue, several key questions remain unanswered.

Owners of the San Jose copper and gold mine still have to explain why it was allowed to operate at all.

Many believe the collapse occurred because the mine was overworked and violated safety rules. The families of 27 of the 33 rescued miners have sued its owners.

President Sebastian Pinera seemed unequivocal and said: "This mine will definitely never open again."

He also said the conditions that allowed the accident "will not go unpunished."