The 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground have spoken for the first time to family members waiting for them on the surface.
The brief phone conversations late yesterday brought a measure of reassurance to families who have grown increasingly worried about the ability of the men to survive the estimated three months of the rescue operation.
Engineers at the mine in Chile's Atacama desert are awaiting for drilling parts from Germany to begin the initial digging of what is expected to be the main rescue shaft.
"The families have had the chance to communicate by telephone with them, so of course there have been moments of great emotion," said Ximena Matas, the governor of the Atacama region.
She said the families "listened with great interest and they both felt and realised that the men are well. This has been a very important moment, which no doubt strengthens their [the miners'] morale".
Family members received the first of what are intended to be daily phone calls in a cabin set up alongside one of the three boreholes now connecting the miners with the surface.
Portions of the conversations were made public, including the promise by miner Esteban Rojas that he would marry his girlfriend of 25 years upon his rescue from the collapsed tunnel.
As the phone connection is still precarious, family members were given just 20-30 seconds to say hello and send a short message to their loved one. The Guardian
