Chilean miners to be out in time for Christmas...

Thirty-three miners trapped nearly 700m (2,300ft) below ground in Chile have spoken of how they have survived on two tablespoons of tuna and half a cup of milk each rationed out every 48 hours.

They men, who were discovered alive on Sunday, have spent the past 18 days in an underground emergency shelter they reached after the entrance to the San José gold and copper mine collapsed on August 5.

Tales from the underground emerged today when rescuers lowered an intercom line through a 3-inch (8cm) diameter bore hole to the men.

President Piñero declared that the discovery that they were still alive – confirmed by a note they attached to a probe lowered into the emergency shelter – had left the whole of Chile “crying with excitement and joy”.

In their intercom conversations the men said that despite more than two weeks in the hot, dank mine, only one of their number had suffered a stomach complaint. They said they had water but were hungry.

“They asked for food, and toothbrushes and something for their eyes,” Laurence Golborne, the Mining Minister, said.

When the men heard that other colleagues who had been in the mine were also alive and had escaped unharmed after the cave-in, the trapped miners could be heard cheering and shouting “Viva Chile!” and then singing the national anthem in an audio recording which was aired on Chilean television.

Paula Newman, a doctor in charge of monitoring the miners’ health, said rescuers had already sent down a glucose solution and medication to prevent ulcers. She said they should wait another day before taking solid foods.

“They are all in perfect health and none are traumatised,” Ms Newman said. “Their complaints are much less than we could have expected.”

However authorities have said they may have to remain in the underground refuge until Christmas when a relief shaft wide enough to get them out is expected to be ready.

Ms Newman said the miners were being asked to answer questions about their medical histories, when they last ate and bathed and who their leaders were to get a more precise picture of the group.

Doctors and psychological experts are now trying to prepare the miners psychologically for the months to come and said they were implementing a plan that included keeping them informed and busy.

The miners reported that a shift foreman named Luis Urzua had assumed leadership of the trapped men.

The men were believed to have used a bulldozer to make a channel of water and had rigged up a makeshift lighting system from a truck engine to illuminate their subterranean surroundings.

The shelter, a living-room-sized chamber off one of the mine’s lower passages that is easily big enough for all 33 men, is far enough from the landslide to remain intact and the men can also walk around below where the rocks fell.

Rescuers have sent down questionnaires to determine each man’s condition, along with medicine and small microphones to enable them to speak to their families during their long wait.

Andre Sougarret, the rescue leader, said they were organising the families into small groups to make their talks as orderly as possible.

One of the miners has already made contact with his family through a note passed up to the surface yesterday.

Mario Gomez, 63, wrote a love letter to his wife, Liliana Ramirez, which said: “My dear Lila, I’m OK, God willing I hope to get out soon, patience and faith...” he wrote. “Even if we have to wait months to communicate ... I want to tell everyone that I’m good and we’ll surely come out OK.”

Yesterday Mrs Ramirez said the family preparing videos for the miners “so that they can see a bit of the family” to keep their spirits up.

“Each moment we are praying,” she told The Times. “But now we’re calmer than before. Everyone is ready, because now we need to focus on making sure they get everything they need.”

Mrs Ramirez also claimed the before the accident her husband – believed to be the oldest of the trapped miners – had planned to retire from working at the mine “because it was too dangerous”.