Deseret News archives: Chilean miners’ underground stay came to a close

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

For “Los 33,” rescue was just part of their journey.

On Oct. 9, 2010, a drill broke through into an underground chamber where 33 Chilean miners had been trapped for more than two months.

The miners had been trapped since Aug. 5, when a cave-in occurred at the San José copper–gold mine in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The men were trapped 2,300 feet underground and 3 miles from the mine’s entrance.

They were rescued after 69 days.

According to Deseret News accounts, the trapped miners cheered and embraced each other as a drill punched into their underground chamber, opening a way out with a spray of rock and dust from the collapsed mine where they had been stuck for an agonizing two-plus months.

More than 2,000 feet above them, rescue workers also celebrated, dancing and spraying champagne with such excitement that hard hats tumbled off their heads.

Family members chanted and waved flags. In the makeshift hillside community known as “Camp Hope,” where family members had held an anxious vigil since the mine’s partial collapse Aug. 5, the breakthrough of the escape shaft was a tremendous relief.

The milestone thrilled Chileans, who had come to see the rescue drama as a test of the nation’s character and pride.

The miners were initially examined at a field hospital and reunited with up to three close relatives. Then, they were flown by helicopter in small groups to the regional hospital in Copiapo.

And the rescued miners were heroes. For a while.

They were treated as national heroes, and promised fame and fortune. But the fame was fleeting for most of them.

Here are stories from Deseret News archives of the heroic rescue and how the lives of the Chilean miners was changed:

“ Chile’s trapped miners cheer as drill punches in ”

“ Last of Chilean miners is raised safely to surface ”

“ Supplies reach Chilean miners; now, the long wait ”

“ Chile’s trapped miners must aid their own rescue ”

“ Geology helped trapped miners survive in Chile ”

“ 33 trapped Chile miners found alive after 17 days ”

“ New video shows emotional trapped Chilean miners ”

“ Endgame nears for Chile miners ”

“ Chile miners start new lives, adjust to freedom, fame ”

“ Chile miners are heroes, but fame can be fleeting ”

“ Many Chilean miners going from celebrity back to poverty ”