The operation to lift out 33 miners trapped for over two months in northern Chile will kick off early Wednesday, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said Monday.

The rescue is scheduled to begin just after Tuesday midnight when a driller digging a tunnel toward the miners is removed, Golborne said at a press conference at the San Jose copper mine.

"So if we are in conditions of starting the rescue, we will do it," he said.

A China-made crane is lowering down a special capsule into the tunnel to reach the miners 622 meters underground, and will lift out the capsule carrying one miner each time. It will take an estimated 48 hours to pull all miners out...[Full story]

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