Joy as drill reaches Chile miners trapped in chamber

IT HAS taken 66 days and nights, but yesterday morning, just after daybreak, a drilling rig finally punched through to the underground chamber where 33 miners have been trapped under the Chilean desert, prompting cheers, tears and fresh hope from exhausted loved ones and family.

Champagne sprayed and hard hats tumbled off heads as rescue workers celebrated close to the drill, hugging each other and shouting for joy.

Relatives waiting at "Camp Hope" on the surface waved Chilean flags and shouted with joy as word spread of the breakthrough

"I'm very excited, very happy," said Guadalupe Alfaro, waving a flag outside her tent in Camp Hope.

Her son, Carlos Bugueno, 26, is among the trapped miners. "I've wanted so long for this moment; I woke up to live this moment. My son will return soon."

"Our nervousness is gone now," said Juan Sanchez, whose son Jimmy is stuck in the mine. "Only now can we begin to smile."