CHILE: Rescue drill reaches 33 trapped Chilean miners

CHILE: Rescue drill reaches 33 trapped

Chilean miners

Anxious family members and exhausted rescue workers reveled in joyful relief after a drill pierced the roof of an underground mine in Chile where 33 men have been trapped since August 5.

Sixty-five days after the mine's collapse, officials on Saturday announced that the drill reached the miners as sirens blasted through the mine site to signal the achievement.

But the moment of pure happiness was shadowed by the fact that it may take hours -- possibly days -- of hard work and tough decisions before any of the miners can be pulled to safety.

"We have not yet rescued anyone and there is much ground to cover," cautioned Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, who also told reporters that the families of the miners "are aware of the process still expected."

Family members ran downhill, carrying Chilean flags, and a man who is a relative of a miner told CNN en Espanol, "I feel happiness. I feel tranquil -- the fear is now gone."

Raul Lyon, vice president of GeoTech, the company operating the rescue drill at the scene, told CNN, "I can't wait to see the first one to come out."

Lyon said the ordeal has been arduous and emotional for the workers, but "we had patience" and solved problems methodically as they came up.

"it was very exciting and also comforting that we were able to reach the tunnel after exactly 33 days of drilling," said Lyon, who noted that the miners are "happy" and "in good shape."

Rescue crews have been drilling three separate wider holes to send down the rescue capsule and hoist the men to the surface. Those rescue attempts have been labeled Plans A, B and C.