Chile to advance evacuating miners on Tuesday afternoon
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The rescue operation of 33 trapped miners will begin "the last quarter" of Tuesday, which means it will advance from the 0 hours of Wednesday to 6:00 p.m. Chilean time (2100 GMT) Tuesday afternoon, Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said on Tuesday.?
![In this image released by the government of Chile, Austrian mine workers install the final platform where the crane is being installed, hours before the rescue operation to lift the trapped workers out of San Jose copper mine, in northern Chile, on Oct. 12, 2010. [Hugo Infante/Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20101013/000cf1bdd03f0e1f44e301.jpg "In this image released by the government of Chile, Austrian mine workers install the final platform where the crane is being installed, hours before the rescue operation to lift the trapped workers out of San Jose copper mine, in northern Chile, on Oct. 12, 2010. [Hugo Infante/Xinhua]") |
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In this image released by the government of Chile, Austrian mine workers install the final platform where the crane is being installed, hours before the rescue operation to lift the trapped workers out of San Jose copper mine, in northern Chile, on Oct. 12, 2010. [Hugo Infante/Xinhua] |
"We expect to begin the rescue at the last quarter of the day," Golborne said at a press conference. This means that the rescue could begin at 6:00 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), so it is expected at least one miner to be rescued on Tuesday.
Talking about the system to lift up the miners, Golborne said, "we have advance a bit faster, so we expect to finish rescue this day at least one of the miners."
The 33 miners who are about 700 meters underground, will be lifted up by the Fenix Two Capsule.
Golborne also explained that the "33 miners wish to wait here in the surface till all their companions have been rescued, and only after that to be taken to the hospital."
Golborne said that the original plan of taking the miners in groups of four to the hospital will be followed.
Meanwhile, official sources told Xinhua that President Sebastian Pinera will arrive earlier at the mine.
