The Rescue is Underway

The story of the miners in Chile really is an interesting one, and it's about to come to a conclusion:

A missile-like escape capsule was lowered into a nearly half-mile tunnel in the Chilean desert Tuesday night to carry 33 miners to fresh air and freedom after 69 days — the longest anyone has ever been trapped underground and survived.

Steam rushed from the hole into the frigid night air — a sign of the humid, sauna-like conditions the men have endured in the gold and copper mine.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera patted the side of the custom-built capsule proudly as the last act of the mine collapse ordeal approached.

"We made a promise to never surrender, and we kept it," Pinera said as he waited to greet the miners, whose endurance and unity captivated the world as Chile meticulously prepared their rescue.

Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said he hoped the first of the miners would still emerge before midnight, a slow process because of the need for methodical testing with a rescue worker inside once all the cables are attached and tested.

A mine rescue expert will be lowered in the capsule and raised again to test it, and then that rescuer and a navy special forces paramedic will be lowered to the men to prepare them for the trip. Only then can the first miner be pulled to safety. It is expected to take as many as 36 hours for the last miner to be rescued.

Those guys are really going to be happy to see the real world again...except for the guy whose wife met his girlfriend during a vigil at the site. They might have a hard time getting him out of that hole.