[King Gizzard]

Anyone gonna watch? No doubt it will be on some news channel

Chilean Mine Rescue Brought Forward

The planned rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners is set to begin later tonight.

Government officials have announced that the rescue will now begin at 8pm this evening local time (midnight UK time).

A specially constructed steel rescue capsule was successfully tested earlier today, descending almost the whole way down the 2,040ft shaft, engineers said. Chief engineer Andre Sougarret said a rescue capsule, named Phoenix, barely registered a scratch as it travelled up and down the tunnel.

The men were trapped by a collapsed tunnel on 5 August.

Around 1000 journalists from all over the world have rushed to the site, joining the families of the trapped miners, many of whom have been camped at the San Jose mine since news broke of the miners’ entrapment over two months ago.

Chilean president Sebastian Pinera is due to arrive at the site later today and security has been tightened in the immediate area.

Mining minister Laurence Golborne said that the authorities would take their time carrying out the rescue. “We are going to take all the time necessary to ensure the completion of these plans,” he told reporters.

Sixteen members of Chilean special forces, all of whom are veterans of previous underground rescues, are ready to begin the process of bringing out the miners, although Mr Golborne said the rescuers would only be told at the last minute which of them would begin the rescue attempt. “All the rescuers have been prepared to fulfil that role,” he said.

Reports in the Chilean media suggest that the miners have already been told which of them will be the first to be rescued, although there are suggestions that the most psychologically capable will be the first out. The Phoenix capsule will take around 15 minutes to ascend the 622 metres.