Two Australian miners trapped 1km underground for 14 days walked out of the mine yesterday, defiantly thrusting their arms into the air after rescuers reached them shortly before dawn.
Miners Brant Webb (37) and Todd Russell (34), wearing yellow jackets and mining helmets with their lamps shinning brightly, walked confidently to a large board and shifted their name cards from red to green - declaring they had ended their shift. Their wives quickly rushed to hug them before scores of rescuers descended on them, hugging and shaking hands.
The miners were trapped in a small wire cage on April 25th after a cave-in at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine on the southern island of Tasmania. A third miner was killed in the collapse.
"This is the great escape. This is the biggest escape from the biggest prison we have - the planet," said Australian Workers' Union national secretary Bill Shorten.
News of the rescue was heralded by the mine's siren and then the bell at the town's Uniting Church pealed in celebration just after 5am local time. It was the first time the bell had been rung since the end of the second World War, 61 years ago.
Residents of the sleepy town walked and drove towards the mine site, honking car horns and cheering, to greet the miners when they emerged from the mine. Digging a 16m (48ft) horizontal rescue tunnel towards Mr Webb and Mr Russell was painstakingly slow, as miners had to grind through rock five times harder than concrete.
Food and water were delivered to the men through a small plastic pipe, along with clothes, a digital camera and two iPod players.
- (Reuters)