The first of three rescue drills today reached 33 Chilean miners trapped for six weeks 700 metres underground, but it will still take weeks to widen the shaft enough to extract the men.
The miners will be helping their own cause by clearing away the debris that falls into the mine as the drill bores through the mine's ceiling.
"From now on, we'll need their help because we're beginning a perforation where we need to remove material from below," rescue chief Andre Sougarret, manager of state copper giant Codelco's El Teniente mine, told state television.
In one of the most challenging mine rescue operations anywhere, engineers are boring successively wider holes using two drills to reach the miners stuck since the August 5th in a tunnel over 700 metres below ground after a cave-in, and have erected a third normally used to drill for oil.
Chile's navy has designed a pod that will be used to winch the men to the surface one by one after the bore hole reaches 0.66m in diameter - just bigger than the width of a man's shoulders.
Chile's government brought in a team of Nasa experts to help keep the men mentally and physically fit during the protracted rescue bid. They lost an estimated 10kg each during the 17 days before they were found alive.
The miners were initially sent high energy foods to boost their strength, and they are now in good health. Nutritionists are preparing traditional meat pies to help the men celebrate Chile's bicentennial on September 18th.
Though the miners' families may also celebrate the bicentennial of Chile's independence, they are mostly thinking about the operation to free their loved ones.
Meanwhile, the miners' family members gathered in a settlement at the mine they call "Camp Hope" are celebrating the holiday with renewed joy, setting up make-shift grills and sharing a traditional festive lunch donated by concerned countrymen.
"Today more than anything we're celebrating because we know the drill has broken through," said miner Claudio Acuna's relative Cecilia. "And that's what we're celebrating as a family."
Reuters