larry. thank you. >> larry: jesse ventura, new season of "conspiracy theory "premieres friday night. we're going to be back two hours from now with continuing coverage of the chilean mine rescue. here's our anderson cooper. let's take you right to the scene, the preliminary is over, final checks of the rescue pod being done. we're hearing minor damage to the door has been taken care of, or was taken care of. also some adjustments have been made to the wheels on the capsule. it's gone down below right now, the pod now wired for video, for sound, for medical monitoring, as they bring up each of those miners, one by one. live pictures now from the rescue site. each minor is waiting for the first breath of fresh air after being underground.

nearly a sea of emergency workers, cameras, dignitaries and, of course, family members, whose only view of their loved ones these last two months has been in grainy video. shortly, and there are no timetables here, we're expecting several rescuers to go down one by one in that capsule and then for the miners to start emerging. the rescue pod right now is back underground being lowered again after the problem with the door was apparently fixed. we believe the first two of the miners who will be brought out first will be florencio avalos and mario sepulveda. we'll bring you a team of experts from across the united states in medicine, mental health, mountaineering, mining, nasa was consulted, but let's start now with the latest, karl penhaul, who is on the ground. where are we now in this operation?

>> reporter: well, if we're looking at those live pictures now coming from the government tv camera, we can see president seb sebastian pinera meeting with the company, he will be the first rescuer in the phoenix capsule to head down to the mine shaft. the fact the president and his wife are greeting him suggests that maybe the time is approaching. the minutes are ticking down to the moment when he will board the phoenix capsule to ride it down to the bottom. there have been little bits of delays, while engineers have been tweaking and fine tuning. but the wheels on the side of this phoenix capsule were not deploying properly. that phoenix capsule really has to have a snug fit inside that 28-inch diameter rescue shaft. if it is not a snug fit, the risk is that the capsule could

gyrate, or spin around even, as it is coming back to the surface, and that could make the miners nauseous, it could even make them dizzy and even faint, which is obviously no good. those miners need to be in constant communication via video and audio with rescuers on the surface. there's fine tuning going on, as women as making sure the fiber optic communication cables work and oxygen works as well. what we're told is that possibly there might be a third and final test run as some kind of weight, sacks of sand are put in the rescue capsule to make sure it can support weight. but the fact now that president pinera is down there at the extraction hole indicates that we may have some movement, that we may have a rescuer going down in that mine shaft very soon, anderson. >> and the plan as we know it is to put at least five rescuers down?

are they all going to go down one by one and then the first miner will start to come up? do we know how that's going to work? >> reporter: initially, the initial plan had been to put four rescuers down and have all of those down in the mine shaft before the first miner comes up. it now seems that the order has been sean up a little and what we're hearing now is that one rescuer will go down and then one miner will be loaded aboard the phoenix rescue capsule and sent back up. putting this in perspective, how long could that take before we see one of those miners coming up? well, on the way down, the phoenix capsule will take about 25 minutes or 30 minutes to get down to the bottom of the mine shaft. because it is going down under its own weight. it is going down under the force of gravity. once that capsule reaches the bottom, a miner could take about ten to 15 minutes to get in the

capsule and also climatize himself and familiarize himself with the audio and video system, with the wide angle camera that gives him constant communication at the surface, and also familiarize himself with the oxygen mask and those kinds of systems. and then his ride from the mine shaft up to the top may take ten or 15 minutes. but that is when the pulleys will be cranking away. so let's say approximately one hour after the first rescuer goes down is when we could see the first of the 33 miners coming back to the surface, anderson. >> it looks in the video as if they're pulling the capsule back up. there had been some talk of them loading sandbags in very close from the mine, basically kind of measuring the weight of a miner, putting those sandbags in just to see the weight and let the operator of the capsule get a feel of what it feels like to have the weight of a human being inside that capsule. whether or not that's been done, we don't know. but it does look as if that capsule is on its way back.

that seems to be the way the cable is being pulled. and the next step we believe would be to put that rescue worker inside the capsule and this operation would be really very close to starting to see that first miner coming out. we're going to continue to watch this. gary tuchman is also there on the ground as he has been now for the last several days. gary, this is obviously being closely watched all around the world, certainly all around chile right now. how close are family members to this scene right now that we're looking at live, and how many family members are going to be allowed to see their loved one when they come up? >> reporter: well, almost all the family members are not as close as i am. we've been allowed to go to a hill overlooking the site, so we're eyeballing the wheel you're talking about, and it's amazing this capsule, which is so high tech and the stakes are so high, it's actually a very low contransportation that makes

it work. it's a wheel with a rope attached to it. as you were speaking, now it's moving again, and it's coming out right now. we see it dangling out right now, and a lot more people are there, which may signify exactly what karl was saying, we may be about to put someone in there. the mine rescue official, and bring him down, and then maybe within an hour see our first miner come up. but family members, three family members are being brought here for the first three miners who are coming up. three people from each family are allowed to watch from inside tents near the site to keep an eye when their loved one comes out of the capsule and meet with them at a reunion center that has been constructed specifically for this purpose. but the rest of the families are being kept away. they'll come when it's their turn, when their loved one comes up in the capsule. >> let's talk about the capsule as we continue to stay on these pictures. karl was pointing out the hole is about 28 inches in diameter. the capsule itself, the interior space i'm told is 21 to 22 inches in diameter. obviously it's a very tight fit.

but it also has wheels can you see now in the picture on the white part, the upper part of the capsule, the interior space i'm told is just about six feet, four inches. explain what those wheels do, gary. >> reporter: the wheels help it go up and down, anderson, throughout this tube. this is 2300 feet. it's almost half a mile up and down. and they tested it the other day to make sure that it could go down, those wheels could operate without scraping dust, without scraping rocks and without making damage. it was a successful trip. they brought it down 2100 feet, not the complete way. we asked the mine official why didn't you bring it all the way down, and they said they were afraid the miners would try to get in, he said that half jokingly, half seriously. it would take 17 minutes for each miner when they come up. a shorter amount of time to go

down. but all in all, if it was a continuous process, anderson -- we've got some lights, apologize for that. >> let's just listen to this. [ applause ] [speaking in a foreign language] >> translator: thank you. thank you. careful. >> karl penhaul, as you watch this, this is obviously the first rescuer going in.

>> reporter: exactly, anderson. and i just wanted to give you an idea of the scene. family members and well wishers are gathering. they're blowing off an air horn, a national slogan in support of chile, because that is -- they've seen the first rescue worker, manuel gonzales, boarding the phoenix rescue capsule. that rescue capsule painted in the red, white and blue of the national flag. a light is flashing on manuel gonzalez's face, and president sebastian pinera is on hand to see that phoenix capsule being brought down into the depths of the earth. manuel gonzalez, he is a mine rescue expert from the state run agency, he is going to be the first man in the hole, and as

soon as that phoenix capsule cranks up, within a half hour, he will be down with the 33 miners. the first human contact they have had from the surface in 69 days, anderson. we can also see coming in from the eight-inch diameter rescue shot, we can see smoke coming up. that's nothing to be worried about. that's humidity because there's a temperature differential. it is very warm down in that mine shaft. it is very cold here, that is just steam coming out of the ground. we can see there the -- still looking at these pictures, it looks like manuel gonzalez got in that phoenix capsule, it looks like he's just stepping out again for a while, just to make sure things work. we can see on the ground there the oxygen tanks, again, to have this oxygen supply there for all

the miners, we understand it's going to be 30% to 40% oxygen mix. it's an enclosed, claustrophobic space, they don't want the miners to get dizzy or faint on the way up. why is that? they believe they need the full cooperation of each miner as they come up. we know that capsle is equipped with a wide angle camera so the rescuers can see how each miner is reacting. but the miner needs to be alert, aware and talking through this video conferencing system, telling them how they're riding up. also explaining if they're getting panic symptoms, that is the importance of that oxygen that is also being put on board there so that the miners don't run the risk of fainting. once again, it looks like manuel gonzalez is still making some adjustments to the gear inside that rescue capsule.

again, you hear clapping from the people here when they saw him get on board, but still some minutes of adjustment. >> and the miners have been prepared. they've been on a liquid diet since sunday, they've been taking aspirin as a blood thinner, they're also going to be wearing not only sweaters and moisture-resistant clothing, i'm also told they have fresh underwear, fresh socks, and most importantly perhaps compression socks and some sort of corset device in order to control blood flow to prevent them from passing out as they're coming up. >> reporter: yeah. let me tell you a little bit step by step. that liquid diet in fact has been administered now for the last six hours. not since sunday, but just over the last six hours. it's a diet of vitamins and protein supplements that have been recommended and designed by the space agency, nasa. we know that the nasa team was on sight here early on in this crisis to help give advice.

that is because that will help the miners avoid nausea on the way up. it will help them keep alert as well. they didn't want to give them solid food, just in case there was any rocking, in case there was untoward movement with that capsule. you're right about the compression socks. a little bit like you would wear on airlines to avoid the risk of deep vain thrombosis, that kinds of thing. each miner will be wearing that. we're also told each minor will wearing a monitoring device to measure heart rate, blood pressure, making sure everything is under control. on the aspirin front, yes, absolutely right. again, to try and avoid the problem of possible blood clots and high blood pressure as well. and for the last couple of days now, the miners have been taking those aspirin.

in terms of the clothing, one of the key pieces of clothing here, we're told they're going to be wearing sneakers. they need comfortable shoes. until now, they've been wearing thin-soled rubber boots that had been sent down earlier on to replace the steel-capped safety boots they had been wearing. they will also be equipped with, i understand, green overalls, green overalls that are also waterproof, because there's an amount of undergroundwater that is filtering through the rescue shaft, so the miners, this is to avoid the miners getting damp. each of those overalls will be embroidered wlt miner's name, just so rescuers know exactly who is coming out. >> i also want to bring in the director of mine safety, you have been in one of these capsules. as they're checking, what are they going through and checking right now? >> all right. now they're checking the cable.

they're checking the cables to make sure they're secure on the oxygen bottles. i saw where they were making adjustments on that. may have been too close to where they're standing or what have you. there's going to be -- he's going to have to make sure he's comfortable so when he goes underground that everything is secure and tight, so they're just making extra checks on that. >> originally we had been told that they were going to send down four -- there were some who said five, but reporting they'll send down four rescuers and then start to bring the miners up. now it seems they're just sending down this one gentleman and then send the first miner. why do you think they've decided to go for -- not for the weakest miners but two miners who seem relatively healthy to start off with? >> well, the reason they're probably going to bring the two healthy miners out, the two individuals that they're talking about bringing out, or one of

them, has collected a lot of information from the very beginning, so they'll be able to translate or relay that information on to the rescuers. they'll have details about the conditions of some of the other mine miners, who they think they should bring out next, who they think can wait until the very end, some of the conditions they've faced underground. they'll be able to talk to them about not only some of the physical capabilities of the miners but the mental capabilities as well. any time you go into a rescue and recovery like this, you interview somebody who has been there firsthand, because you can gather a lot of valuable information that will help you during this rescue. and that's why they want this -- the individual obviously is strong enough to come out, and he's strong minded enough to remember the details to be able to help them have a rescue, a successful rescue. >> let's just listen to the sound of this as the first rescuer begins to get ready to descend. let's listen.

[speaking in a foreign language] >> translator: okay, everybody, everybody move back, everybody move back. good luck. good luck. make sure you've fastened the door. fasten the door. okay. imagine you're at the beach. imagine you're at the beach.

good luck, good luck, manuel. [ applause ] >> on the left side of your screen, you see folks in the nearby town, copiapo, extremely excited. the beginning of the end of this long journey. >> translator: before midnight, i want him up here. >> as you watch this very brave rescuer descending, going to be descending some 2,000 feet in the ground, being watched there by the president of chile, who has been on the scene all this day, what goes through your mind? obviously, you know, when you --

at least for me when i see, this you realize just how elemental all this is. we think we live in this high-tech age, but this is a man in a pretty crude device just descending deep into the earth. >> yeah. you always have to remember the rescuers are just a grade above other people. you've got to take your hats off to these individuals. they're willing to put their lives at risk to help somebody else. his heart has to be 100 miles an hour. my heart is beating like crazy just watching him go in the ground. we train for these kind of events and try to prepare ourselves, physically and mentally, but when you actually get in the situation like this, your adrenaline is speeding, your anticipation, i'm sure he's anxious. he's excited. he's, you know, anticipating what to do as he goes down. that's going to be a long, lonely trip for him to go down until he gets to the bottom. all kind of thoughts are going to be going through his mind. no matter how well trained you

are, we're all humans. but rescuers are a step above. i mean, any time somebody would put their life, you know, ahead of rescuing somebody else, that they would be willing to sacrifice their own, it's just a certain breed of -- my hats are off to these guys. >> i'm glad we paused for that sound. because to hear his -- you know, one of his colleagues to tell him, you know, pretend you're at beach, obviously this is certainly no day at the beach for any of these folks. >> no. no. definitely not a day at the beach. but you have to try to occupy your mind and think about things like that. but i'm telling you, this is an exciting moment for everybody. this is something that's never occurred before, and this is actually -- anderson, if you think about it, this is history. they've always wanted to do manned testing to find out how long people could stay in confined spaces. but we're going to be able to gather a lot of good information from this, and the good thing is that these miners have lived through this ordeal so that we

may learn and help other miners in the future. so, you know, i think this is going to be a good thing for everybody in the end. >> on the right side of your screen, you see the president of chile talking to some of the miners, the rescuers, the mi personnel. this, the 68th day, camp hope appropriately named tonight because there was so much hope that this ordeal is nearly over. not just for the miners down below, but for their families who have been camped out all this time. joining me now, dr. kimberly manning. what kind of condition, what is the greatest concern about the miners' condition right now? we know obviously there's dangers about bring them up. they're going to be wearing compression socks and corset devices to regulate their bloodflow. we know they've been on a liquid diet. we know they've been under very strict supervision, and being

careful about what they eat and trying to get exercise. what are your greatest concerns in the hours ahead? >> well, i think it's going to start off by just looking at what we call a primary survey, and that's airway, breathing and circulation. it's always where we start. and so they've already been equipped with oxygen masks. it is critically important, as we've heard over and over again, that we make every effort to keep these gentlemen alert, on their way up. because if someone was to pass out, this could really be disastrous. also, with the nutritional supplements that they've been given, they've been very careful about how much fluid they're getting, exactly what caloric supplements, how many salt supplements they've been given. that's all important, because we want to prevent things like nausea, that could lead to as piration, which could also be a problem. but really passing out would be my primary concern right now. >> that's one of the reasons for the liquid diet. there was concerns about them getting nauseous on the way up because this capsule will be rotating somewhat.

it's not a straight shot up, it's going to be rotating and they may get nauseous and throw up, so the idea was not to have solid food that they could throw up. >> right. and literally, when someone vomits, if they aren't able to bend over or find a way to be able to clear the airway, what happens is that that vomitous or particls can go into the lung. that could lead into as piration pneumonia which can be a very serious thing we'd see once they made it up. once they reach the surface, the focus will be making sure everyone is breathing okay, but looking at the blood pressure in particular. we know that some of the gentlemen were pretty up in age. the oldest of which is 63. so you'd be really focusing on those individuals who have underlying medical problems to make certain, very certain that the circulation is intact. >> it's interesting as we watch this image, you can watch the cable and get a sense of speed that the capsule is moving. we don't have control of the

camera they just pushed in, but we're also watching the cable to see when it slows down and stop to get a sense of whethn the rescuer has reached the compartment where the miners are in, and we understand that first miner is on his way up. dr. manning, you're also concerned about the health of the miners' kidneys. why that in particular >> well, a few interesting things. one of the biggest issues was that for the first 17 days they literally had one to two ounces each of fluid. it's 85 to 90 degrees in the quarters where they are, so they should be getting four liters of fluid per day. so we already know by the time they were discovered and found that they already had taken quite a hit. and when an individual gets quite dehydrated, it puts quite a demand on the kidneys. what compounds that, they've been in such cramped quarters, about 500 square feet with 33 individuals, the muscles begin

to atrophy. myogloben tries to clear through the kidney, and one of the big side effects there is that this can lead to kidney failure. they tested half of the miners for myoglobin in the urine and nearly half did have it. >> i want to talk in our coverage by midnight, by which time we expect at least one miner brought up, about the effects of lack of light on these men. imagine living in complete blackness with only the occasional light from head lamps, especially in the initial weeks of this thing. people from nasa came down, they tried to create sort of light and dark areas, we'll talk about the importance of that. but one person i've talked to described it as, it's like having jetlag for 68 days. lack of light can have that impact on your mental state. we'll talk about that ahead. we have a rescuer heading into the mine as we speak.

you see the wheel moving. he is going down, a long journey, likely ten to 15 minutes before he actually reaches the miners. i'm being told it may be about four minutes. we'll be right back.

and these are the images we saw just a few moments ago, the

first rescue worker, manuel gonzalez, taking some oxygen before getting into the phoenix capsule. his colleagues wishing him well, wishing him good luck, the president of chile wishing him that as well. colleagues saying, imagine you're at the beach, as they locked him into the capsule, placed him in the capsule and began lowering him. and as soon as he beganing to lowered into the ground, that say live picture right now in the nearby town of copiapo. residents singing the chilean national anthem. let's listen in for just a moment. ♪ >> the people in that square vowed to stay there until the last miner is brought out. let's watch.

♪ >> and you see in the upper left hand, the capsule being lowered down to meet the miners. karl mpenhaul joins us live fro the scene. you may have gotten word a few minutes before he reaches the miner? >> reporter: even less than a few minutes now, anderson, that's why people here have hope, singing the national anthem. there was a countdown to show us how many feet that rescue capsule still had to go, while they were in the middle of the anthem, there was only 60 feet to go. they've now taken the countdown clock off the screen from the national tv, that rescue capsule has to be dangling just a few

feet from the mine top where the 33 miners are. this will be their first contact with outside human life in 69 days, and that is why we see family members here, in prayer, waiting, and here one of the 33 miners. [speaking in a foreign language] >> reporter: he can see a smile on the face there, as the capsule was going into the hole, moments of tension, praying, stern looks, but for now he says we're happy, we're very happy, that capsule is down there near the bottom. when we see the wheel on that pulley and wheel system stop, that is when we will know that the rescue capsule, that the phoenix has reached the 33 miners and in a short time we

could see the first of those 33 miners, florencio avalos, coming to the surface, marking the end of the 69-day purgatory. >> i can only imagine what the miners themselves after surviving for some 17 days before they even knew if anyone was looking for them, before they even knew if anyone would find them, and then to discover, to have that first drill break through after being down there for 17 days, and now they're waiting for their first contact with a human being in some 68 days, it is an extraordinary moment as we watch that wheel, waiting for it to stop, being the indication that human contact has been made, and the long, long journey that these miners have been suffering through, that long journey, is about to enter its final phase. karl, at the point that the rescuer gets there, do we know how long before he loads the first miner in and begins to give instruction and exactly what to do with the

communication devices and oxygen devices in the phoenix capsule? >> reporter: in fact, remember earlier on we were talking about how the rescuers had been able to telescope all the timelines, and even this phoenix capsule as it goes down now, it looks like it's going to make the journey from the surface down to the mine in around ten minutes. that is twice as fast as rescue workers expected. they expected the phoenix, because it was falling under the weight of its own gravity, could take about half an hour to get down there. we now can see from the countdown on the official government signal, that that phoenix rescue capsule is down at the mine shaft with the 33 miners, there's a signal that shows 15 minutes to get down there, that is quicker than they expected. we expect that maybe it will take ten or 15 minutes to load

the first miner aboard. what we're not sure about is whether manuel gonzalez, the mine rescue expert that has just gone down there, we believe he has to carry out afew assessments, checks of the miners first, he has to explain procedures to them. that could take a little time. that could take a little time. one of those miners gets loaded on board, we know the journey from bottom back to the surface could take just ten minutes, anderson, and that will surely be the ride of floor residence yo avalos, the first miner out, that will be the ride of his life, anderson. >> the wheel is still going, so clearly he's not yet made contact. >> reporter: that is not clear to me right now. on the government tv signal, that is there, it clearly seems to show that the counter has stopped, that the counter has

stopped at zero. ie that it is at the 6400 meter mark, about 2,000 feet. yes, it does look like the cable is moving, and that could give it -- to give it a little bit of slack. we'll know in the next few moments -- >> there, it stopped. look, you can see it. >> reporter: look at the faces of family members here. yes, there it is, anderson. >> wow. look at this. this is actually from inside the mine, a live image of the capsule entering the mine for the first time. extraordinary. extraordinary moment. if this does not give you ch chills, i'm not sure what will. there you see camp hope, the emotion on the left side of the screen, this is a live picture from inside the mine.

manuel gonzalez being greeted by one of the miners. the emotion of people on camp hope on the left side of your screen, they're watching the images you are seeing, and the nearby town of copiapo, elation as well. tears of joy and relief. let's watch on the right side to get a tighter shot of that, if you can. let's look at that full screen. manuel gonzalez, the first rescuer to go underground being greeted by the 33 miners. he's gone from the cold night air to a temperature somewhere between 80 and 90 degrees, shaking hands, being hugged. you can see the smiles on the miners' faces. incredible. just incredible.

they had lowered -- they had lowered obviously video cameras and cables in order to be able to get images all throughout these 68 days. if, in case, miners needed psychological counseling, they had psychiatrists above ground through ichat, video chat, they could make contact and talk. clearly manuel gonzalez is going to explain to the miners the situation, what it's like being in the capsule, then give them instruction on exactly what they have to do once inside the capsule. karl, what is each of these miners -- they're going to have oxygen, a video camera trained on their face in case they panic and people -- and also communication devices so they can be talked to while they're ascending, correct? >> reporter: absolutely. strapped on to the door of that

phoenix rescue capsule is a wide angle camera. so that will give rescuers a very clear vision of the kind of experience the miners are going through. and believe you me, if the optics on that camera inside the phoenix are in as good as what we're seeing as has been put down into that mine, the rescuers will get a very good idea. you know, we're up here on the surface saying, why is it taking a bit longer than expected? why is it taking so long to get all the communications gear into place? and we can see why now. the chilean government and the rescue workers really did want to make this picture perfect. they didn't let on that they had a live, fiber optic video feed down below, and there we saw that phoenix capsule being lowered down from the surface, we then cut to the pictures below ground and see it coming down. what an incredible moment, to think that manuel gonzalez is the first human being that these

33 miners have seen beyond themselves in these last 69 days. this is the first person that has come from the surface down to where they are in all that time. and we can see him now standing amid these miners, explaining to them what the procedure is for getting aboard the phoenix capsule. and again, look at miners there. we know some of them have lost weight, some of them, according to family members, have lost up to 30 pounds. but they look to be in good spirits. we know they've had all sorts of high-tech gear, sportswear sent down to them, but now they've gone back to being miners. they're stripped down to the waist in the heat of the mine

shaft, stripped down to the waist, ready for work with manuel gonzalez, and now it looks like he's going on some kind of a tour, remember where the plan, where backhoes and trucks would be prepared, and above ground on the national government tv pictures, we can see sebastian pinera, the chilean president, and his wife are watching everything that's going on. >> karl, i think you can also see -- you can also see one of the miners getting ready, getting clothes on. a lot of the miners don't have shirts on, but you see one of the miners very clearly has the custom-made outfit that each miner is going to have as they ascend, i believe that's what we're seeing in the foreground of the screen, giving a kind of -- slapping hands, we don't have control over this camera, which is why it's going back and forth. but you see clearly there the miner dressed in this water-resistant outfit that each of these miners will don before going into the capsule. i'm assuming this is the first miner who will be leaving.

florencio avalos, or one of the first two who ask going to be leaving, because clearly he is already dressed and apparently ready to go. dennis o'dell is watching these images as we are. have you ever seen anything like this? we heard we might have a live video image when the capsule arrived but we didn't know if we really would. it takes your breath away. >> i'll tell you, the thing that -- i mean, to tell the whole story is to look at the miners' faces, the smiles, that tells the whole story right there. because all the hope that they had held on to has finally come to a reality. this evening. i mean, just to look at those guys and the smiles and hugs they gave each other, that's what it's all about. it just has -- if that doesn't touch anybody's heart, i just don't know what does. this is such a heartwarming thing to watch unfold. >> how -- in terms of the

ascent, obviously they've done everything they can do to try to shore up this -- let's listen in. >> translator: it was bad. >> not exactly sure where the sound is coming from, but -- dennis, it looks to me that one of the miners is dressed -- dressed to go. is that what you can tell as well? >> yeah, that's what it looks like t looks like one of them is putting on the coveralls they sent down for the rescue attempt to take place. it's almost like they were preparing him and getting him ready. i saw initially the rescuer that went down was giving a brief overview to everybody after, you know, the initial hugs and hellos and greetings and everything, and i think he was just telling everybody what he experienced on his way down and what they should experience on

their way back up. so i think everybody is getting anxious at this point. >> how safe is this, how safe do you think this ascent is? obviously it's not a straight shot, it's an 80-degree angle. they tried to shore up some of the upper parts of it with metal, with steel, but there's inherent risk involved. >> there always is, anderson, but i'd said earlier before, i think they've taken every precaution they possibly thought they could take. with saying that, there's always a risk any time you're involved in a rescue and recovery where you're going through a different strata and going in and out like they will through the next several hours. but i think they'll take extra due care in watching that, and i think it's going to be a fairly safe operation. >> how -- i mean, how -- obviously the chilean government

thought the mining agency couldn't handle the rescue operation and brought in another group of folks. is there much oversight of these mines? >> you know, i'm not sure as far as chile what the regulations are, if any, especially in the gold and copper mines. the united states has -- we're regulated with our mining industry. australia has good regulations. there's other mines. like i said, it's a gold and copper mine, it's different as far as coal here in the united states. but one of the things that -- they have one way in and one way out. and hopefully some of the things that they'll learn is that while they're doing this type of mining, they need to make provisions for secondary means of escape in the event something does happen. and maybe they'll learn that they need to do some extra precautionary measures as far as supporting the top and the ribs and the floor so that, you know, they don't have this type of collapse. there's a lot of lessons to be learned here as well to move

forward, to make these mines and other mines throughout this world safer for miners to work in. >> chilean authorities had been criticized early on for not doing enough to oversee the mines and workers in those mines but have received high marks for their response after this incident occurred for giving this high level attention from very early on. this certainly has had the attention of the chilean people and obviously the politicians as well. you see them all over the place tonight throughout this evening. just remarkable images. you're watching history being made here, the first rescuer has reached one of the miners, one seems ready to go. do we have to take a break here? got to take a very quick break. we'll come back and show you have the miner as he heads for home. we'll be right back. may be possible. in pursuit of this goal, lexus developed the world's most advanced driving simulator, where a real driver in a real car can react to real situations without real consequences.

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for those of you who were with us for the sago mine disaster several years ago, we hope we have a very different story to tell you tonight. remarkable, breathtaking images from just a moment ago, the phoenix rescue capsule entering are the mine where 33 men have been trapped for 68 days now. their long nightmare, it seems, it seems, it nearly over.

that was images broadcast live. rescuer, manuel gonzalez, moments ago entering the mine, the first human contact these miners have had. one of the minors alreadyers is go, florencio avalos has been selected the first to leave. in relatively well health. well -- in good health, i should say, he's been one of the videographers for many of the videos we've been watching over the last 68 days. looks like he's getting some instructions now from manuel gonzalez. manuel gonzalez, in the white helmet and sort of the orange-reddish outfit in the foreground with his back to the camera right now. let's listen in to what is being said. >> translator: we need to be monitoring this to see if the signal will hold or not. so i need order.

i need order so you can keep the area clear. once the capsule ascends, we need them to clear the area. >> i believe these are instructions being radioed to the miners underground. trying to verify that. that's obviously a voice of the translator explaining what i believe those instructions are being radioed from people on the ground in order to tell the folks to kind of clear the area once the capsule is being sent up. this computer screen is being watched by the president of chile and also mine officials, who are in charge of this operation. so they are seeing this as you are seeing this in realtime.

we're also -- it appears as if florencio avalos is already inside that capsule. i think we're hearing actual sound from the miners themselves from inside there. [speaking in a foreign language] >> they're talking to manuel gonzalez, the people on the ground are talking to manuel gonzalez, the rescuer, who is inside the mine. >> translator: manuel needs to give the okay so we can proceed. >> so the folks on the ground are waiting for manuel gonzalez, the rescuer, to give the okay.

so that florencio avalos can be the first man to leave this mine. [speaking in a foreign language] >> so you're hearing sound from both inside the mine as well as the voice of the mine officials, watching this on their computer, and that's where these images are being taken from. >> translator: they're closing the pod? [speaking in a foreign language]

>> translator: they're closing the pod? i'm -- giving the final touches, the final indications. [speaking in a foreign language] >> translator: please tell manuel when he's ready, to talk to me on the phone. here he comes. i need everybody to move from in front of the camera. manuel, how are we doing? excellent. perfect. there's a small box on his feet, he cannot hold it in his hands. is the door checked? everything's ready. everything's ready. perfect.

there's a small, little box on his feet so you can monitor him. i will give the ascent orders. correct. ascent orders given. please clear the camera. okay. we will begin the ascent. please clear the camera. please clear the camera. please clear the camera. we need to be able to see. he's coming out.

it's five to 12:00. did you see that? did you see that at the end? what happened? >> extraordinary moment you're watching live television, chilean authorities not only conducting a rescue operation, but producing a videotaped rescue operation with cameras, they're in control, the chilean authorities are in control of the cameras. we are not. they have this whole thing wired, the reaction in nearby town of copiapo, clearly excited, watching every single moment of this as we are, and

folks are around the world. a lot of tears, a lot of excitement. they're not sure how long it's going to take. gary tuchman is at the scene. karl said it took half the time they thought, it took about ten minutes for the rescuer, manuel gonzalez, to go down. should it only take about ten minutes for florencio avalos to be the first man brought up? >> reporter: anderson, we've been told this will take about 15 to 17 minutes for him to be brought up, but the wheel seems to be moving quicker than the wheel when they went down to get the miners. what's amazing, anderson, is this. this is the ultimate live shot. i've got to tell you. this reminds me of when i was 8 years old watching neil armstrong step on the moon for the first time. the irony we are the closest civilians to the rescue site right now, we see less than you and the viewers do because we don't have tv monitors. we are just staring at this

wheel. when the wheel started turning the other way, people started cheering. now when the wheel started turning this way, people started cheering again. it's a long walk to monitors to watch this and a lot of the journalists are wanting to see this because it's extraordinary television. we just can't wait for the first man to come out. >> dennis, they're monitoring now the man we believe to be florencio avalos, we were told the first man to be selected. he was clearly ready to go, clearly dressed, if in fact it was mr. avalos. you've been in one of these capsules. explain what it's like as you're ascending through the ground. >> you feel helpless. like i say, you're standing inside a confined space where you can't really move your arms above your head or anything, you have to keep them down at your side. you can't bend over, and you're at the mercy of the operator. so you have a lot of time you're by yourself and you have to think positive. have you to try to keep your

mind occupied, not think of anything on the bad side, but try to keep on the positive side. so this is going to be a long, lonely trip, but i'm sure his heart's going 100 miles an hour, he's probably ecstatic, can't wait to be reunited with his family and friends. there's probably a lot of emotions as he goes on this trip. >> no doubt. dr. kim manning is with us, dr. manning, as this man is being brought up, he's moving from one temperature zone, about 80 to 90 degrees, to what is clearly very cold on the surface. what kind of difficulties does that entail? obviously he's been given a sweater, he's been given clothing to deal with it, and water-resi water-resist stand clothing because there is water in the shaft. >> the biggest issues would be if this individual was not prepared with the proper clothing and gear, and he has been. when someone goes from one extreme temperature to very,

very cold temperatures, certainly cold jury and hypothermia can be a very serious medical issue, but in this instance, i don't think that's something we'd really have to worry about. they've taken adequate precaution. >> he has been selected because he is supposed to be in good shape. you just saw a moment ago, family members of florencio avalos being brought to the site, three family members we're told of each of these miners will be allowed to go and greet them and spend some time with them, and then each of these miners is going to be brought for medical treatment, for medical observation. but there are family members of the miner being brought up as we speak. we're past the top of the hour. if you're just joining us, we're bringing you history tonight from chile, where one of 33 trapped minors, florencio avalos, we believe is inside this rescue pod heading above ground. these images moments ago taken as the pod actually left the mine. this was the first contact these miners had had, you see they broke out in applause.

clearly people above ground broke out in applause as well. the rescue pod departing on its ascent, the first of 33 ascents. we bring this to you live. gary tuchman is on the scene, so is karl penhaul. we have doctors and mining experts all watching this as well. a truly remarkable evening, an exciting night. gary, dr. manning, for -- once this miner gets on-site, gets up on to the surface and is able to interact with their family, what sort of medical tests are they going to be undergoing over the next several days? >> right. so after they've done the initial survey and they've made sure the airway, breathing and circulation are intact, the next thing they'll be doing is really just standard testing in terms of body chemistries, things like the sodium level, potassium level. of course we talked about kidney function a little bit earlier. we'd also like to look at the liver function. cardiac examinations and cardiac

laboratory evals would be helpful, ekg would be helpful in those individuals with underlying medical problems. a huge, huge thing is going to be a psychiatric evaluation. these are remarkable individuals who have survived the unthinkable. so we know we already are dealing with an entire different group of people, in terms of their ability to survive. but even if some of them survive, or are able to get past those physical complications, it's going to be very difficult to get past those psychiatric things, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, and, of course, the depression that comes with the tremendous lifestyle change they'll be facing. >> not only have been away from their families for this amount of time, they're emerging as heros in chile, no doubt they'll be descended on by local reporters, by people that want to talk to them, get their stories, that's going to have impact, obviously. there you see family members waiting, waiting for this man. it has been seven minutes now, since florencio avalos departed

from the mine. we believe it could be anywhere from 12 to 16 to 17 minutes for him to get up here, maybe as little as ten, because it took about ten for the rescuer, manuel gonzalez, to go down. karl penhaul is standing by at camp hope where the miners' families have been. there's two family members, maybe a third, of this first miner. they've been brought in in anticipation of him coming. karl, do you have a sense of how far away the phoenix capsule is? >> reporter: i believe it is -- i believe the capsule is now no more than two, 2 1/2 minutes away, judging by the time that the rescuer took to get down, this capsule is really moving quite fast, it seems to be going

quite smoothly. technically speaking, the technicians said it would take longer for the capsule to get down to the mine than it would to extract it from the mine, back to the surface. we now have on this current ascent, florencio avalos stepped into the phoenix capsule eight minutes and 31, 32, 33 seconds ago now. so i would expect to see the phoenix rising to the surface, bringing the first miner back to life in just a minute and a half, maybe two minutes from now. and if you look at this picture behind us, family members, well-wishers, they are just waiting here, this is the moment they've been waiting 69 days for. you can see also at the extraction point, you can see president sebastian pinera and his wife. they have come out, they're

standing alongside the extraction hole, this first extraction is just seconds away. there goes the siren, there goes the siren. that means miner on the surface, anderson. miner on the surface. a light is flashing, an ambulance siren is blaring. this is the signal to tell us that florencio avalos is just feet away from the surface. we will see him emerging, we will see the phoenix rising in just a few seconds. i'll keep quiet. we want to see this moment. we're being told now, anderson that was a false alarm, that that siren was going off prematurely. it's a false alarm, that there is still a few feet to go. but the phoenix is clearly still rising, but that's the signal we're going to hear when it

comes up to the surface. we're going to hear that ambulance-type siren, we're going to see a light flashing. we can see some steam rising there. don't worry, that's just steam that's coming up as there's a temperature differential. it's hotter under the earth than it is up here. >> no doubt. >> reporter: but just a few seconds possibly away from the surface. >> 32 miners down below, no doubt watching this as anxiously as all of us here on the surface. the younger miners, jimmy sanchez, during the past 68 days had written to his family, saying there weren't 33 miners down there, he said there are 34 of us because god has never left us down here. certainly their faith is strong after being down there for 68 days. and now the long road to freedom is about to be complete for the first miner, florencio avalos. you see the steam rising from the hole, the warm temperature down below, very cold up top.

the family of this one miner, this first miner, the healthiest of the miners, the smile in anticipation as they wait, as we wait and watch. and there on the left-hand side of your screen in the upper corner, the people in copiapo, chile, the nearby town, filmled the down. and on the lower side, family members, people in camp hope, much closer to the actual mine, they're silent, watching the wheel turning. as soon as that wheel stops, they'll know. they're too far away to see the capsule, but they'll see the wheel, they'll see it stop, and they will know that the first of their 33 miners is home. three different drills were

working to get to these miners, each one racing the other. it was the plan b drill, which ultimately got there, american technicians actually operating that drill, one of whom was brought in from afghanistan. we'll talk to them a little bit later or not in this hour. they didn't actually stick around to witness it. they wanted to go back to santiago and watch it on tv like everybody else. they wanted this moment to be for the chilean people, the family members, the friends, the colleagues and all the mine officials who have been there working around the clock. as karl indicated, when the capsule, when the phoenix capsule is close to the surface, a siren will sound. that will happen every time each of the 33 miners is brought up, letting people far and wide know that one of their miners has

gotten home. it has been nearly 14 minutes since florencio avalos first left the mine. been given about two minutes before this capsule reaches the surface based on radio traffic. believed to be either from the miner or from people on the ground to either the miner or to manuel gonzalez, the rescuer, who is still down below in the mine. the final few moments are

probably the safest for the miner. the upper part of this shaft has been secured with metal, has been re-enforced with steel. the lower parts of it were not. they're now about to commence the ascent, we're told. >> translator: move back. >> it's been 15 minutes so far.

>> translator: we are moving, we're moving up until we've reached the surface. >> you get a sense of just how this is the chilean government, the fact that they are -- provided a translator and are shooting this from all different angles, and here we are. [ cheers and applause ] >> never has a man been underground so long and gotten out alive. the family crying.

crying with joy. relief. for their loved one. [ applause ] [ applause ]

>> 68 days underground, 32 miners still down below. the first man is here. wearing glasses, because the difference in light, concern about the miners' ability for their eyes to adjust. they've been in complete blackness, aside from small head lamps. each of the miners will be wearing these glasses as they come up. there's the president of chile greeting florencio avalos.

a short period of time with up to three family members, and then they're going to be brought in to a nearby medical tent for evaluation. and then we're told helicoptered to a nearby facility where they'll get much more intense evaluation, psychological and physical. . >> this is obviously a point of huge national pride, the early anger at the mine owners.

the thumbs up from florencio avalos, and now attention turns to the other miners down below. a psychiatrist and professor at the university of california san francisco, he joins us now. it seems obviously for the top priority for these guys will be spending time with their families, but you say that experience can also bring its own kind of stress. >> well, i think the stress is figuring out a way to reunite with some degree of privacy. the vision i just saw is wonderful, and, of course, noting the family members reuniting with the miners is really very wonderful. but i think the problem is now what happens, will they be

separated? will they have a chance to really get together and reintegrate back? it can be certainly very stressful if the miners are whisked away and suddenly become part of the media explosion. so i think the privacy and a chance to reintegrate is critical right now for the miners. >> i mean, i've got to say, i've never seen a rescue like this produced as much from a television standpoint by chilean authorities. this is not -- this is not television companies doing this, this is the chilean government producing this every step of the way, even doctors opening up the doors as he's being brought in because they're aware the cameras are there. it's pretty remarkable. in terms of readjustment, what kind of problems do you think they may encounter in not only the hours but weeks and months ahead? >> i think the big problem is when some of our astronauts face as well, astronauts whom i study in my research. getting back from a mission that has a lot of fame and glory

attached, for people who aren't used to it, can be very stressful. and i think it all depends on how things are handled. some people, for example, buzz aldrin, when he came back from the moon, wrote very vividly in his books about how difficult the readjustment was for his family and for himself there. was alcoholism involved. it's tough to be adjusting to fame and glory when it's not part of your normal routine. so i think the key for the miners is that they have some private time to normalize their lives before they go on tours and get interviewed a lot, and have really the media and the politicians come at them. it's important to pace things. >> yeah. stand by, doctor. karl penhaul is standing by at camp hope. it looks like, now, karl, another rescuer, r is coming do.

with each miner they'll send for the initial few, another rescuer down. >> reporter: that does seem to be the case. that is in fact what has been said the course of the afternoon, the initial phase, one rescuer down and then bring one miner up. but i must tell you that the family members here at camp hope are still celebrating, i would say, celebrating of course they're celebrating, but there were tears. both the men and women burst into tears, the national anthem. there were hugs to go around and then the images that are coming from the president himself, hugging the first miner coming

out of that hole. but we also saw one of the chief rescue coordinators, also saw the two men that have stood stoically by through this rescue effort, who have said on many occasions, tonight we saw them cry. we saw them cry as florencio avalos stepped out of the capsule. this is a combination of 69 days of searching, of rescue, and of helping 33 miners half a mile underground fight against life and death, anderson. >> kimberly manning also joining us, doctor from emory university. the fact that florencio avalos was able to stand, greet his family, that's certainly a good indication of his health but he was put on a gurney pretty quickly and brought to a field hospital immediately. what can they do there on site?

>> first they'll do a full physical, a head to toe examination. once they get a good assessment of where his vital signs are, it will probably start by having them place ivs for intravenous fluid hydration, rapid metabolic panel as mentioned before to really see how his elect throw lit lites, the miners were receiving fluids and water down into the mine, we also know that with the disorientation and with just the elements that they were in, it would be very difficult to get them proper amount of volume that you need. >> we're watching the second rescuer about to be lowered into this mine. we expect his journey to take just about ten minutes or so. we expect to also get live pictures from down below, looks like they're rechecking something. want to make sure all the

straps, everything is in order. they want to make sure they maintain communication with him. he's stepping out, clearly more work has to be done. let's go back and show the moments ago we saw for the first time, the first miner emerging from the ground, just truly remarkable moment. [ applause ] >> maybe his son or a little

brother, clearly overwhelmed by it all. here's the second rescuer again, back in the capsule now, they seem to have fixed whatever the problem was. they're giving some final instructions and they'll be sending him down. we saw one of the colleagues of the first rescuer, manuel gonzalez, telling mr. gonzalez before he went down, just imagine you're at the beach, as he was being lowered down. not an easy thing to do, with all the pressure and the eyes of the world watching. karl penhaul is watching all this along with us. karl, the miners have had their own sort of -- not really a medical personnel, but a miner who had some minor medical training. one of the jobs he had was to interview each of the miners every single day and send up

information about what they were eating, about their spirits, their medical condition as best he could. so there has been one miner at least whose job it was to monitor the physical and mental health of each of the -- his colleagues, correct? >> reporter: absolutely. he is a trained paramedic, incidentally his main specialty is explosives, he's the man with the dynamite but he is also the man who's been keeping a medical eye on these 33 miners. he is the one that after 17 days -- because remember, of course, these miners were lost -- they lost all contact with the outside world for 17 days. nobody on the surface knew they had survived the mine cave-in. but when they made the bore hole

half a mile down, they very quickly on the surface, the medics and the psychologists got together and decided that barrios was their man, andther jokingly called dr. house, referring to him. but carrying out daily or even twice daily survival signs of the miners and also the man who has been in charge of the -- making sure each miner was slim enough to fit into the rescue capsule, just 21 1/2 inches in diameter. it was also mr. barrios making

sure they're in physical condition and yes, of course, keeping the miners in good mental health. it's been one of the main focuses of the rescue teams on the surface over the last two and some months, playing a vital role. >> it's good to, i think dennis o'dell is standing by with the united mine workers of america. as we watch the second rescuer, how difficult is this for each rescuer? >> going underground making a trip -- >> i'm sorry, we have your audio now. go ahead. >> okay. there's some risk involved. i mean, these guys are trained professionals in what they do, and so, therefore, you know, they're going to take extra safety precautions in their

approach, but there's always, like we talked about before, a risk. i was sitting here watch this whole thing unfold, and i'm thinking about when you and i first met at sago, and then we went through that event and we saw crandal canyon and upper big branch and now we're watching this unfold. you know, hopefully operators and regulators will wake up and make some changes to make these conditions safer for miners so we can learn and not have to go through these events again. that's the one thing that i hope that america and the rest of the country will wake up and give miners what they justly deserve as far as a safe workplace. because not only are these miners at risk, but the point you just made, you're also putting rescuers at risk as well to try to save these guys. but you know, thank god we have guys that will step up to the plate to do this, anderson.

>> i want to talk to you more about that, i just want to listen to what -- looks like they're checking the door. let's see if we can listen in. they had a problem with the door previously before the first rescuer went down, they thought they'd fixed it, looks like it's being lowered again. whatever the problem was, not serious enough to stop the second rescue operation underway. again, joined by dennis o'dell from united mine workers. i've been thinking a lot about the sago mine disaster and how authorities there, mine officials there, i mean, it's a complete opposite of what we're seeing tonight in terms of

transparency and visibility. clearly authorities here want people to see what's going on. back in sago, the only people who had the information about what really was going on, they held on to that information. and even when word was leaking out, and the wrong word was leaking out and families were rejoicing that their loved ones that they thought their loved ones were alive, and the mining company knew that information, you know -- at the very least was not entirely accurate, rather than allowing transparency they allowed that false information to spread out. this clearly is an operation where transparency, we're seeing it at all different levels. >> yeah, and i think that's a lesson learned from sago. if you recall, when that whole event unfolded, you know, the emotions that everybody went through. i mean, you and i stood side by side and watched that whole thing unfold. we thought everybody was alive and then found out through miscommunications that that wasn't true. so you went from this very high, good feeling, like we see here

tonight, to this gut-wrenching sickness and pain to find out that all the miners, with the exception of one, had actually died. so i think that's something that the entire mining industry throughout the entire world has learned, that it's better, you know, to have people know exactly what's going on, and try not to hide the information and to be open and honest with everybody as to what's going on. i think that's shared information, that lesson that we learned at sago has paid off in this instance here. >> and here we see again, underground images of the miners, 32 miners now, awaiting this -- the rescue capsule to come and the second rescuer to arrive. we're going to take a quick break. it takes about ten minutes or so for this rescue capsule to go down. we'll be back in just a few minutes. [ male announcer ] the next big thing from lexus is not a car.

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we are back with just remarkable breaking coverage from the historic mine rescue in chile. this happens just a few minutes ago, the first of 33 miners being brought out alive. florencio avalos is his name. his family was there to greet him, as women as his colleagues, the president of chile and all those working so long and so hard to bring these men out alive. no one has ever survived underground so long in a mine and gotten out alive. a remarkable night, we hope is he the first of 33 men to be brought out alive. two rescuers are now

underground, one now still on his way to the mine. the first rescuer is already down in the mine. the mine, of course, is on a -- is at the end of a half-mile-long scape shaft, the hole is two feet across, punched through tons of rock. jeff -- can you hear me? it's anderson. >> yes, i can hear you. >> jeff, you're in santiago tonight, congratulations. what was it like for to you see this first man being brought out alive after you have been working on this and your colleagues around the clock to make sure this happens? >> you know, it's extremely exciting for us. i -- kind of got away from it, matt, jorge and i are all here in a hotel room locked up, kind of watching this as it came, and it's a very emotional moment for us. we worked real long and hard on that and to actually see that capsule come through the first time, through the hole that we

drilled, is just unbelievable. >> i would have expected you to be soaked in champagne by now. it looks pretty mellow in your hotel room. >> you know, it's a very sobering, sobering scenario. there's still 32 guys down there, and to think we had a part in this is extremely sobering. so it is kind of somber and we're all kind of in disbelief that we're part of this. >> you had more than a part and your colleagues did as well, because you guys were working around the clock. there were three different drills, plan a, b and c. you were plan b. you actually started later, but you broke through first. i heard you say that -- i read that you said this was the most difficult drilling project you've worked on, and you just came back from afghanistan where you were helping american forces drill wells. why was this one so tough? >> you know, the geology and the strata here is very difficult to drill. it's very abrasive, extremely hard. it's got broken parts in it, it

eats up bits. we had a hard time with the angle, keeping it, we had issues, but together as a team everybody came together and we made this thing work. and it's an awesome feeling. >> and we think we live in this age of hugely-high technology and we certainly do and these drills are amazing, but you actually have to stand on your feet while you're drilling. i read because you actually kind of sensed things through your feet. tell me about that. >> absolutely. if you're a good driller, you're always standing on your feet, kind of feeling what's going on, and you can tell a lot by your gauges, but the real feel is what the drill's doing. so you're noticing whether it's good torque or bad torque, so you know whether it's time to pull a bit, or whether it's just something else in the hole that's holding you up. >> were you manning the drill when it actually broke through? when it actually reached the miners? >> yes, sir, i was. >> what was that feeling like?

i mean, did you actually -- could you tell that it had gotten that close? >> you know, we did. we stopped 2 1/2 meters shy, just so we could make sure the miners could go down and measure to make sure our depths were correct, they did over the phone tell us it is 2 1/2 meters, so drilling the last couple of meters is obviously nerve wracking. we could still have a failure at that point and lose the hole. so until you're actually in the mine, it's not over. so, yeah, we had a very nerve wracking couple of meters there, and then in the last six inches we had something around the rig pop. everybody's asked us about that. we still today don't know what that was. >> i heard you described it as you thought your heart almost stopped. >> you know, well, i tell you, that is what we didn't want to hear is something like that, because we still hasn't punched through into the mine, and it

was definitely a heart stopper. we're thinking something goes wrong in the last minute. but it ended up, we watched the video that the miners had for us come through and everything worked out well. >> well, i know you wanted to kind of leave this moment to the folks who were there, and you left the scene. i know everyone there was congratulating you, was hugging you. you are a hero not only to the people there, but to everyone around the world who has been watching, you and your colleagues. jeff, i appreciate what you did tonight in chile over the last several weeks and also in afghanistan and all your work. thank you, sir. >> absolutely. i appreciate that. thank you much, anderson. >> take care. incredible scene unfolding tonight before our eyes, gary tuchman has the good fortune to watch it up close for us. gary, how many minutes do we think it's been now while the second rescuer is on his way down? we can see the wheel right now, it's still turning, so it looks like he's going down, but he's

got to be pretty close. >> reporter: yeah, i think he'll be down there any minute now and the second miner will be on his way up. the first miner was totook 15 m, but the significance of the first minor, mr. avalos, coming up. not only was it an amazing moment for human kind literally to watch that man come up, the first man to survive that long, among his 33 colleagues, but it's significant because of the reason that man was on the capsule. they wanted the healthiest, fizz cli physically emotionally, they figure it'd would work, but that capsule had never done this with a human being comes up in the mine, 2300 feet below and making its way to the top. and it worked. now there's no reason to expect it won't work for the next 32 men. >> and again, we are very close to, we believe, watching the capsule emerge from its long

descent down. do we know who's coming up next? gary, do we know who's coming up next? we've got a disconnection from gary. let goes to karl penhaul. karl, who is the second minor goi miner to be brought up? do we know? karl, it's anderson. can you hear me? okay, we have a problem with that as well. we'll try to establish -- obviously this is live television and there's a lot going on. a lot of moving pieces. dennis o'dell from united mine workers is standing by. in terms of the operation, it looks like it takes ten minutes to get down, maybe 15 minutes, i think it's been about 12 minutes now for the second rescue worker. each man seems pretty prepared by the time the capsule gets there. and if it takes about 16 or so minutes to come back up, we're looking at -- i mean, at the most about 30 minutes per each trip, per miner.

so there's no doubt this is going to last through into the morning, we're still going to be seeing people coming up. >> yeah, absolutely. it's going to take that, just because of the number of miners that we have. so it's going to be a long night for everybody. but hopefully, like you said, it looks like it's going to be a very successful night for everybody, and morning as well. >> dr. kim manning is with us from emory university. as night turns into day, that also brings with it, you know, obviously we saw the first miner wearing those glasses because they were concerned about the differential in light. not as big as problem at nighttime, but during the day you've got miners that have been in pitch-black with only a few l.e.d. lights, only lights on their helmets, suddenly emerging into the bright sunlight. >> definitely. well, there's certainly the risk of uv light injury. so wearing those glasses is very important, but also being in the

dark itself is also a major issue as well. >> it's amazing, i've been reading up on how lack of light can affect a person long-term, someone describe it'd as having constant jet lag for 68-plus days, but nasa had advised them early on that to try to make a light area as well as a dark area inside the cave, they weren't really able to do that, to make it fully light, but they had an area where there were l.e.d. lights and their lamp lights. why is that so important, to try to -- why is that so important? >> so, anderson, what this tries to mimic is the body's sir kade yin rhythm. that is a physiological process that sets all the things the body does, based upon periods of light and periods of dark. and so during light periods, your muscles are the most agile, you're the most alert during those periods of time. then your body tends to relax. so take away light, it upsets

the whole physiological process of the body. so bringing the light down there was really huge, but also being in darkness can lead to things like vitamin d deficiency. most of the vitamin d we get is not through diet but in fact comes from a reaction that takes place when you get into sunlight. so vitamin d deficiency is also a huge issue. >> gary, one of the things they tried to get these miners to adhere to over the last 68 days was a very rigid schedule, in part because of that very reasonabl reason, for not having light, they wanted to make sure the miners stayed busy and their bodies got used to having some sort of routine. this wheel looks like it's slowing, so i'm -- any moment now we could be getting that live picture from down below. it looks like frankly the wheel has stopped, and in fact, there it is. let's watch this live. let's listen as we hear the microphones underneath the ground.

>> translator: i am -- i'm looking at the cage. we're looking at the images of the cage. >> this is radio communication from down below. >> translator: it has arrived. perfect. perfect. let me know when it lanldss. lower. lower. please come through. lower. a little bit lower. little bit lower. there. there. did it land okay? yes. perfect. please stay on the line. >> there you see manuel gonzalez, the first rescuer there, going to make sure that the phoenix capsule -- you hear them in the mine clapping. > >> translator: very good.

[speaking in a foreign language] >> translator: the cage is in the air. they're going to lower it a little bit more. they're going to lower the cage a little bit. lower. we're requesting instructions. please lower the cage. a little bit, it's still in the air. >> again, you're hearing radio communication from manuel gonzalez, one of the first rescuers inside the mine, to mine officials.

so you're hearing the sound of manuel gonzalez below, as well as the mine officials, overseeing the operation, above ground. so you're hearing two different voice, sets of voices. looks like the second rescuer in the foreground is addressing some of the miners and now bringing over one of the miners. you can see one of the miners in green, that must be the next man who is set to go. the green are the outfits the miners wear before they're put in the capsule. you see most of the miners are still without their shirts as they have been for some 68 days. >> translator: manuel, checking the door, making sure everything is correct, that the lock is

correct. >> the name of the second miner is mario sepulveda, also said to be in relatively good shape. that's why he's been selected as second to go. he, in fact, was the spokesperson or the video fair rat narrater of many of the videos we've seen over the last 68 days. he narrated a lot of the videos. >> translator: please check the door. >> florencio avalos was actually the cameraman for most of those videos.

[speaking in a foreign language] >> obviously there's been some concern about the door, both before this whole operation began, and clearly now. they're still discussing the door. looks like one of the miners, mario sepulveda, is fully dressed. looks like he's awaiting instructions. the second rescuer seems to be working on some of his equipment. you see roberto with his back toward the camera. mario sepulveda is facing the camera there in green. he's just put on a red helmet. each of these miners as they're brought up, if you haven't been following our coverage, each has an oxygen and communication devices. mario there seems to be laughing and hugging one of the other miners. incredible pictures. .

this is happening some 2,000 feet below the surface of the earth in a remote part of chile, and you are watching it live. as i was saying, each miner has access to oxygen on the way up. there's also, i'm told, a video camera trained on the face of the miners so that the folks above ground can watch the miner as they talk to them. assess his condition, make sure there's no panic. that was a concern for some miners they might panic on the way up, even though they're used to be in very tight, claustrophobic conditions, no one has ever been underground so long and survived to be brought out, so they didn't know what to expect. there's also communication devices, they can actually talk to the miner as they're bringing the miner up.

dennis o'dell is watching this along with us, he's from the united mine workers. dennis, one kind of starts to think this is not unusual to see these images, but this is history happening. we've never seen people underground this long who have survived, and we've certainly never seen it all broadcast live, a rescue like this. >> that's correct, anderson. i mean, i'm sitting here watching this whole thing just like millions of people are, and in total amazement. just to watch the reaction of the miners themselves, you know, trying to look at their body language, try to look at the expressions on their face, the way they're hugging each other. you know, that family, that camaraderie that they have, it's a joyous occasion, i think, for everybody. and you're right, this is history in the making. this is something that nobody has ever seen. this is something that's going to benefit the whole mining

community throughout the world, too. because one of the things that we've always been curious about is how the human body would last in a confined space for long periods of time, because as you know, one of the regulations that passed as a result of sago was in the united states now we have shelters and chambers put in place, and we really weren't sure how miners would react being in confined spaces, if they would have to get in those areas and barricade themselves. and i think we'll be able to learn a little bit from this experience, so we can apply it here in the united states with the use of shelters and chambers we have in place. hopefully we'll never have to use them. but in the event we do have to use them, i think we can learn from this experience for sure. >> yeah. let's hope so. let's listen to the radio traffic now, as mario sepulveda prepares to be the second miner brought to the surface.

[speaking in a foreign language] >> trying to interrupt as little as possible. i just think these images are so incredible to witness this as it's happening. i want you to experience it. >> translator: please stay with me and inform me of what's going on. they're giving the final instructions.

they're checking the door again. making -- check being the door. making sure he's breathing correctly, very relaxed. this is -- very relaxed. it's very calm. stay very calm.

>> translator: we're finishing the check. the last check. >> the voice of manuel gonzalez, looks like we've lost that underground image, but you're hearing are the voice of manuel gonzalez, the first rescuer. he'll be the one to give the word that it's a go to start bringing up mario sepulveda. dennis o'dell watching with us. dennis, that steam rising from the hole, that's entirely natural. that's just because of the temperature differential, correct? >> yeah, that's all that is, because it's so much hotter underground than it is -- yeah. >> you're watching the lower left-hand side of your screen, people in the nearby town of copiapo, watching, just silently, waiting for that

capsule to leave the underground chamber. they will no doubt, as they have before, erupt in applause before it happens. >> translator: okay. okay, whenever you're ready. >> see the second rescuer, roberto rios segal on the right of your screen. >> translator: we're beginning the ascent. >> and it has begun.

>> translator: please ask them to clear, clear the camera. >> and mario sepulveda is on his way to freedom. some 16 minutes for florencio avalos. karl penhaul son tis on the gro. the crowd no doubt watching this more intently. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. i mean, they're here at camp hope, there are a mixture of areas where family members are, they're all glued to tv screens to see those amazing live pictures of miners coming up and we saw roberto rios is the second rescuer out there. >> having trouble hearing karl

penhaul, there's just too much background noise for that. dennis o'dell, let me just go back to you. the length of this operation, i mean, are you surprised at how quickly they were able to get through to these miners? there had been talk that, you know, this might go into december before they were able to reach the mine. >> you know, anderson, when they first started talking about how long this rescue may take, i was -- i was kind of taken aback by the length of the period of time they said the rescue was -- you know, they were going to say clear into december. and that was kind of troubling to me, because it seemed like a longer period of time than what i thought it should have taken. i'm actually -- i believe that they're more in time with what i thought they should be as far as the rescue goes. i don't know if they're saying it would take longer to be --

>> i think they were sort of wanting to give worst case scenario so they didn't promise one thing and say it's going to be much longer, if anything they'd rather err on the side of being overly cautious. this is the wife of mario sepulveda. she is being brought now to the place where he will be brought out. again hugs all around. and as we saw with florencio avalos, mario sepulveda will likely stay with his family, frankly a few seconds, no more than a minute or so, then will be put on a gurney and be brought to a nearby hospital tent where vital signs and other things will be taken. our coverage is going to continue all through. larry king is going to be taking over in just a few minutes. let's check in with gary tuchman, everyone no doubt watching, as well as us. >> reporter: anderson, the thing i'm thinking about right now more than anything, is how happy i am for these families.

we've had the opportunity the last couple of days to meet so many family member who's really had great hopes there'd be a successful conclusion to this. obviously it's not done yet because only miner number two is coming up. but they saw miner number one get up successfully, reunite with their family, now they know this capsule works with a human being, and i'm so happy for these people. >> yeah. the last ascent took 16 minutes, so the clock has already begun to tick, nearly four minutes in. we anticipate within 12 minutes we will see, if all goes according to plan, mario sepulveda, brought to the surface of the earth after being some 2,000 feet below for these last 33 days. it has been just a truly historic 68 days, that these miners have been trapped. we've watched this every step of the way from the joy, the first moments when it was discovered that they were alive, took 17 days before that was discovered, the joy of seeing them for the first time in those