Three rescued minersgo home

THREE of the 33 rescued Chilean miners were celebrating at home yesterday after each being released from hospital with a clean bill of health.

All the rest of the miners were expected to be out of hospital over the weekend.

“We don’t see any problems of a psychological or a medical nature,” said Dr Jorge Montes, deputy director of the Copiapo Regional Hospital.

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As the men prepared for new lives in the glare of publicity, relatives said they were not yet ready to speak at length publicly about their ordeal because they want to fairly divide the spoils of their overnight media stardom.

By last night, few dramatic details had emerged of their 69 days trapped a half mile beneath the Atacama desert.

A daughter of Omar Reygadas, a 56-year-old electrician, said in an interview yesterday that he told her just hours earlier that the miners have agreed to divide all their earnings from interviews, media appearances, films or books.

“He also said we can’t say things to the media without their permission,” said Ximena Alejandra Reygadas, 37. “He said they need to decide what we can tell the media.”

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Hundreds of reporters abandoned the mine and descended on the provincial capital of Copiapo after the world watched in awe the nearly flawless rescue through a narrow shaft.

A shift foreman at the San Jos mine who is close to many of the men said they have hired an accountant to track their income from public appearances and equitably distribute it.

“More than anything, I think the idea is to charge for the rights to everything that’s been shown about their personal life, of their odyssey. That way, they’re safe,” said Pablo Ramirez.

Ramirez, 29, had lowered himself into the mine right after its August 5 collapse in a vain attempt to reach his comrades.

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“They’re going to be very close to the chest and will speak together as a group,” he said.

Ramirez is out of a job with the roughly 360 other San Jos miners now that the government has decided to close it as unsafe.

The cause of the disaster remains under investigation, but rumours abound that the mine owners had cut corners for years.