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>> and now "bbc world news." >> inside that chefs, two dozen feet long, somewhere inside of the shaft -- >> hello and welcome. -- shaft, inside that, 2,000 feet long, summer inside of that shaft -- somewhere inside of that shaft, the first rescuers is in the capsule. many are watching this, glued to their television screens. people are fascinated by this ordeal, which is seemingly

coming to an end. the wheels are turning relentlessly to bring the first minor back to the surface, back to freedom with all the burdens that entails as well. it is a complicated story both underground in technical terms. a technical story as these miners return to normality. remember, while they have been underground, they have been working together as a unit. the last man to appear, he has been the boss, the man in charge. they decided that they would send the strongest man up first, in case something goes wrong,

they would have to open the lid and sent themselves back down again into the mine shaft. it does not look like it is about to happen. after the strongest men have en,n lifted up, the weakest ma will come up. some are suffering from a disease that is common in this profession. he will be next to come up after the initial group. and, finally, the strong man who can wait several hours. there we see one of the medics. they may be speaking with one of the relatives in the background.

being there, coming out of the rescue shaft -- the whole signifies freedom for the miners. it was not there and tell -- orange wheel, torm we'l make sure it does not get caught anywhere. an extraordinary sight. it is just a hole in the ground, but it signifies so much. let us briefly go to tim wilcox who is in the crowd. over to you.

>> one person has dropped back -- walked back to the tent where he has been camping out. look at this in the middle of the media, the whole family encircled by news crews from all around the world, waiting for this moment, which they can see on the big screen over there when the capsule comes up and the first man in its is florence 31 years old. his wife and two children will be there to meet him. there is another son down there as well who is 29. the wheel is turning. the capsule coming up toward the surface. these pictures now showing the

moments that the first of these 33 miners is coming to the surface after 69 days. the president waiting there now. we can see these pictures on the big screen of his wife and children as they wait for this moment. let us move down to the big screen here and just get some of the reaction here as it is just a few seconds away for this moment to happen. these pictures as you can see are watched closely by everyone here. that capsule is pulled closer to

the surface. a man is speaking to the children, his wife along side him. what a moment for these children here, about to see their father for the first time in 69 days. other families around here as well, watching these pictures as well, waiting for their loved ones to come up. everything seems to be going according to plan. the engineers looking absolutely -- the president smiling. the little girl chanting. the chief engineer along side them as well. the man who has led to this operation along side of the

president. the atmosphere is building. we are just seconds away from this. the deputy foreieman. florencio in the capsule. and now just a few inches away from the surface, the wheels slowing slightly, the cable running through that in the middle. everyone watching these pictures around the world it is making

its way up. florencio avalos who was chosen because of his physical and mental strength, who kept things going underground. he is telling them of the state of the men below. it must be moments that are unbearable waiting for the family members to surface. and then they are watching with his wife, maria.

[unintelligible] the rescuers are waiting a cautiously -- anxiously over the top of the well. he is just inches away now. [foreign speaking] [unintelligible] florencio is the first of four

strong miners to come up before the weaker ones follow. let me come down here and get a better shot of the people watching the screen. [unintelligible] a huge sense of anticipation. people are shouting out at these tv cameras lights.

[applause] the little girl mouth open. [applause] [unintelligible] [applause] [laughter]

[unintelligible] out.rs and shouts ring al the little girl crying as she sees for the first time her father in 69 days. a look at the faces around here. everyone watching these moments. [applause] it has been such a long time. this is finally happening now. here he comes out. he hugs his family. and his children. tears in the eyes of people. some people thought they would never ever see this. including these miners, four

days, they did not know if they would ever survive. [applause] florencio avalos kissing his family, wearing those sunglasses, looking remarkably strong. the first of the 33 miners to be rescued after 2.5 months underground. the president of chile. the first of the 33 in what seems to have been a trouble- free attempt at rescuing them. hundreds of people watching at the bottom of camp hope.

the family is swamped by this media swarm. [unintelligible] look at this. as the cameras move in, the gazebo has been pulled down by the sheer numbers trying to get close to florencio avalos and his wife maria. absolute chaos here. we tried to get that close shot. the father who for the last few days has gone through so much. he has now seen his oldest son,

one of two trapped underground for so long, finally coming to the surface. the chaos here -- [unintelligible] chaos but joy as the first of the miners comes to the surface. other families around here waiting for theirs. the oldest minor, watching these pictures as well, 63. his wife and daughters and other children there as well.

cheers for the family of florencio avalos and for those families waiting for their loved ones to come up as well. let's see of we can listen. [unintelligible] she says -- spanish]

she is saying that her husband is no. 9. she says she hopes to see her husband at 3 or 4:00 in the morning. her husband has survived on a container and managed to survive for 11 days in the water. if he could survive that, he could survive underground. fusion joined here. let's look at this family being mobbed by all of the media here. but the real hope for these people having seen florencio avalos come up, that it will not be too long before they see

their loved ones as well. here we can see several members of another family talking to the general media they are expressing their joy about what has happened. and so this process now will continue. within minutes, this will be going back down and picking up more of these miners. wonderful scenes down here. in other white expecting to see her 62 year-old husband around 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. the first avalos miner up.

the other son will be up later on. with these pictures here of the capsule preparing to go down for a second time. it will bring up the second minor who is waiting patiently below. they were -- there were extremely emotional and dramatic scenes a few moments ago as the moment finally arrived that everyone has been waiting for. some thought it would never happen initially.

the man that we just saw emerge like all the other men down there, they thought they would never be found. several days underground. they did not know if anyone out there were still looking for them. imagine that. after that, and another 55 days of waiting and finally freedom. this must be repeated in other 32 times over the course of the next day. judging from house with the first ascent was and house louis, we can expect them to come up fairly quickly. one of the rescue workers has come out again. i am not sure what is happening there. imagine the relief of the family

as children are seeing their father again for the first time after 69 days. the father may have been given up for dead in the beginning. all of that coming out of this capsule. enormous anticipation among some the other families. they are seeing prove that this operation works. they are now looking at their clocks, looking at that list, looking at the numbers on that list and trying to work out how long it will take for them to

embrace their loved ones as well. let us have a quick look at the pictures of of the camp. the crowd is really building up. we will go back to that little area down there. many of the family members are in camps here where they have makeshift schools, because the families did not live here before. they arrived. the men came here to make a

living. not a bad living either. this mine had paid very well. you work for this mine and we will pay you 20% more than the other miners will get working similar hours in places nearby. that did not pay off with this mining accident that could have killed them all, but did not. here they are witnessing the next stage. the second rescue worker is preparing to go down. the second minor is preparing to come up.

let us go back to my colleague who is amongst the crowd now. are you there? [unintelligible]

there we see the pictures as rescue workers are making sure they have everything working fine. this is the first medic to go down. these miners should get a preliminary test before they come up. i am not sure why the first miner was brought up. here we go. once ago -- once again into the hole. a perfect fit. they are getting ready for the second rescue.

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