Joy as first Chile miners freed- An absolutely new operation for History to remember!

The first miner to be rescued was Florencio Avalos.
The first five of 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months in northern Chile have been winched to the surface amid scenes of jubilation.


Florencio Avalos was first to be freed, at 0010 local time (0310 GMT).
He was greeted by family and hugged by President Sebastian Pinera. Also to emerge were the only non-Chilean, Bolivian national Carlos Mamani, and the youngest miner, Jimmy Sanchez.

In an address at the mine, Mr Pinera declared the rescue a miracle.
Officials say they should be able to rescue one miner each hour.
The rescue operation began shortly after 2315 local time (0215 GMT) with a technical expert, Manuel Gonzalez, being lowered down the 624m (2,047ft) rescue shaft.
A minute after the "Phoenix" capsule reached the top of the rescue shaft, Mr Avalos stepped out and was greeted by his family, rescuers and the president and the first lady, Cecilia Morel.

Bystanders cheered and clapped, and then started chanting "Chile".
Mr Avalos gave a thumbs-up before being taken in an ambulance to a medical triage centre and then given time with his family.