Chilean miners celebrate bicentenary
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Joining their compatriots across the country, the 33 miners trapped 700 meters underground in Chile did't forget the nation's bicentennial on Saturday even when their lives were in danger.
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A man dressed as a clown walks past a honor guard during a ceremony for the 33 miners trapped underground inside a copper and gold mine at the camp where relatives of the miners are staying near Copiapo September 18, 2010. [Agencies] |
Video images from the depth of the well showed the miners, some of them dressed in red, were singing the national anthem, and one of them was dancing Cuenca, a traditional Chilean dance.
Through a video transmission system, the miners were able to watch the independence celebrations held in the capital city of Santiago and send images up to the ground.
The miners were inspired by the address of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who applauded the spirit of the miners and pledged all-out efforts to rescue them.
Racing to the celebrations from the rescue scene, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said if things went smooth, the miners could be brought to the surface by early November.
On Saturday night, the celebrations hit its climax when an image sent out by the miners that reads "We 33 miners are all alive in a shelter" aroused waves of cheers and applauses among tens of millions of people on the Ciziten's Square in front of the Presidential Palace.
Also on Saturday, family members of the trapped miners hoisted a Chilean flag signed by each of the workers in an Independence Day ceremony at a camp near the entrance to the San Jose copper-gold mine, which collapsed on Aug. 5.
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