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Rescue attempt for 33 trapped Chilean miners to start at 4am tomorrow
Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne has announced that an attempt to rescue 33 miners trapped underground in Chile would begin at midnight today Chilean time (4am Maltese time).
Earlier, engineers had explained how a test of the steel rescue capsule was carried out successfully, descending almost the whole way down a 622 metre shaft.
The men had been trapped in the San Jose mine by a tunnel collapse on 5 August 2010.
There was a sense of excitement on the surface, with the miners' families counting the hours.
Journalists had flocked to the mine from all over the world to see the freed men emerge from their two-month ordeal.
Wives and girlfriends, who were camped out at the site entrance, had been planning the outfits they wanted to wear to greet their menfolk.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was due to arrive at the mine later today and security had been tightened. Police on horseback were patrolling the hillsides surrounding the remote desert site.
