17 days later, trapped Chilean miners still alive

“The 33 of us in the shelter are well,” read the message written with red paint on the piece of paper that Pinera held up on television, as drivers honked horns in the capital Santiago and diners applauded in restaurants.

“It will take months (to get them out). It will take time, but it doesn’t matter how long it takes to have a happy ending,” the beaming president said at the minehead.

The miners are 4.5 miles inside the winding mine and about 2,300 feet (700 mts) vertically underground. They are inside a mine shaft shelter the size of a small apartment.