Family marks time until infant's birth, Chile miner's return

The Chilean miner who penned the famous note informing the world that he and 32 colleagues trapped deep underground were alive wants his note back.Jose Ojeda is the author of the August 2010 note that read: "We are okay in the refuge, the 33 of us."The note was attached to a probe that reached the miners 17 days after a collapse at the San Jose mine in northern Chile trapped them some 700 meters below the surface.Rescuers were surprised to find them alive, and the discovery set in motion a frantic rescue effort.

Thirty-three Chilean miners found alive and in good spirits after more than two weeks trapped underground began receiving glucose and medications but were not told it could take up to four months to free them.The engineer in charge of the rescue mission at the San Jose gold and copper mine, Andres Sougarret, said he was plotting where to drill a hole large enough to lift the miners out one by one from a gallery nearly 700 meters (2,300 feet) below ground.

To the sound of celebratory horns and wild jubilation, the final miner emerged safely from a Chilean mine after more than 69 days trapped deep underground.The shift leader in the San Jose mine when it collapsed on August 5, Luis Urzua, 54 -- like a skipper refusing to abandon a sinking ship till his crew were safe -- agreed to stay till the bitter end and was the last of the 33 miners hoisted to freedom.

Chile's 33 trapped miners spoke for the first time with their loved ones, reassuring each other in brief but moving conversations by radio-telephone after 24 days underground."To hear his voice was a balm to my heart," said Jessica Chille after speaking to her husband, Dario Segovia.Limited to one minute per miner, the wives, mothers and fathers lined up for their first person-to-person conversations since a cave-in August 5 blocked the miners' exit from the San Jose gold and copper mine.

Chile's 33 trapped miners spoke for the first time with their loved ones, reassuring each other in brief but moving conversations by radio-telephone after 24 days underground. "To hear his voice was a balm to my heart," said Jessica Chille after speaking to her husband, Dario Segovia.Limited to one minute per miner, the wives, mothers and fathers lined up for their first person-to-person conversations since a cave-in August 5 blocked the miners' exit from the San Jose gold and copper mine.

Chilean officials worked to launch a gruelling, four-month rescue operation to save 33 trapped miners, while keeping the men in the dark about how long they will have to wait for deliverance.Drilling of an escape tunnel through 700 meters (2,300 feet) of earth and rock will begin "by the end of the week," the engineer in charge of the rescue mission, Andres Sougarret, told reporters.In the meantime, he said he will be mapping out a path to the miners that aims to avert another collapse at the San Jose gold and copper mine like the one that sealed its exit on August 5.

Painstaking efforts to reach 33 workers trapped in a Chilean mine continued Tuesday five days after the structure collapsed, as desperate relatives prayed their loved ones would be found alive.There has been no word on the condition of the workers, who were trapped some 400 meters (1,300 feet) underground when the entrance to the San Esteban copper mine collapsed.Rescuers at first focused on reaching the miners through a ventilation shaft, but ceased operations when the shaft collapsed on Saturday, dealing the rescue operation a major setback.

A Chilean court Friday froze all 9.7 million dollars in assets belonging to a troubled mining company to fund the huge rescue operation for 33 miners trapped below ground since early August.The San Esteban Mining company has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy since the August 5 cave-in forced it to halt operations at the San Jose gold and copper mine.The assets freeze ordered by a Santiago court includes the mining rights to the San Jose mine, as well as to the machinery, equipment and vehicles belonging to the company.