Chilean miners: How the rescue operation works

The rescue operation of pulling out 33 Chile miners trapped underground for 68 days began on Wednesday at San Jose mine. Here's how the rescue operation works. (NYT Photo)

The miners have survived deep underground longer than anyone before them. (NYT Photo)

They were trapped on August 5 when the upper galleries of the mine collapsed. (NYT Photo)

For 17 days they were all but given up for dead, before a drill probe found them and they were able to attach a note to it, announcing the extraordinary news that they were all alive and well. (NYT Photo)

They had survived by strictly rationing their food and water, and had found refuge in an emergency shelter. (NYT Photo)

Now, after a multi-million operation to drill down a rescue shaft, they are being brought out of the mine one by one in a specially-designed narrow steel cage, dubbed Phoenix to symbolize their rebirth. (NYT Photo)