San Jose:
Chilean officials said the rescue of 33 miners trapped in the San Jose mine in the Atacama desert since August 5th, could take place as early as November.
Health Minister Jaime Manalich said all precautions are in place to treat the miners once they are removed from the cave where they have been living for more than fifty days.
Manalich said the process should take one day, barring any unforseen complications.
Mining Minister Laurence Golborne has said it would take eight days to insert a steel sleeve in the 28-inch-wide (71 centimetre wide) hole to prevent rock falling while miners are being pulled out.
In another indication of the rescue effort's progress, Golborne said the rescue capsule, named Phoenix after the mythical bird that rises from the ashes of its own funeral pyre, must be ready within 10 to 12 days after they decide on a final design this week.
With that in mind, engineers were viewing prototypes of the capsules on Tuesday at a Chilean navy shipbuilding operation in Talcahuano, where three of the capsules will be built to provide backups in case anything goes wrong.
Each capsule will be equipped with tanks to provide three hours of oxygen, wheels mounted on shock absorbers to maintain contact with the pipe's walls, an internal harness to prevent injury to the miners and a wireless communication system so the men can remain in touch with people inside and outside the mine during the 15- to 20-minute journey to the surface.
It also must fit through a tube just 23 inches (58.4 centimetres) in diameter, while also providing just enough room to squeeze inside for the largest man trapped below, a miner whose shoulders measure 19 inches (48.3 centimetres) across.
They are getting food, medicine, communication and other essentials through narrower holes dug by rescuers, but their anxiety has become evident, with more questions asked each time they hear the drilling stop.