Breakthrough joy for miners 66 days on

• Relatives at Camp Hope celebrate the Plan B drill reaching the trapped miners after 33 days drilling in what has become a media event. Photograph: Francesco Degasperi/Getty

Families, some of whom have kept a vigil since the 5 August disaster at what has come to be known as Camp Hope ran up a hill where 33 Chilean flags were planted, chanting and shouting with joy as a siren rang throughout the small, makeshift settlement, confirming the breakthrough.

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

The "Plan B" drill won a three-way race against two others to carve a hole wide enough for an escape capsule to pull the miners out, one by one.

While "Plan A" and "Plan C" stalled after repeatedly veering off course, "Plan B" reached the miners at a point 2,041ft below the surface at 8:05am, after more than a month - in fact 33 days - of drilling.

"This is an important achievement," Chile's mining minister Laurence Golborne said. "But we still haven't rescued anybody...

"This rescue won't be over until the last person below leaves this mine."

The milestone thrilled Chileans, who have come to see the rescue drama as a test of national character and pride, and eased some anxiety among the miners' families.

But now comes a difficult judgment call: the rescue team must decide whether it's more risky to pull the miners through unreinforced rock, or to insert tons of heavy steel pipe into the curved shaft to protect them on their way up.

President Sebastian Piera reminded Chileans on Friday he had promised "to do everything humanly possible" to keep the miners safe.

Steel pipe would prevent stones from falling and potentially jamming the capsule, but it wouldn't save a miner if the unstable mine suffers another major collapse, and might itself provoke a disastrous setback, Golborne said.

"You would have to put though a 600 metre hole a lot of pipes that weigh more than 150 tons," he warned. "And this structure can be set in a position that also could block the movement of the Phoenix (escape capsule]. It's not a decision easy to make."

If yesterday's close video examination persuades engineers the shaft is smooth, strong and uniform enough to let the capsule pass without significant obstacles, then rescuers plan to start pulling the men out one-by-one as early as Tuesday, in a made-for-TV spectacle that has captivated the world.

The miners will be initially examined at a field hospital where they can briefly reunited with up to three close relatives. Then, they'll be flown by helicopter in small groups from the San Jose mine to the regional hospital in Copiapo, were a wing of 33 fresh beds await to care for them for no less than 48 hours. Only after their physical and mental health is thoroughly examined will they be allowed home.

"I'm very excited, very happy," said Guadalupe Alfaro, waving a flag outside her tent. Her son Carlos Bugueno, 26, is stuck down below. "I'm very excited, very content. I've waited so long for this moment, I woke up to live this moment. My son will return soon."

Conditions down below have been tough for the 33 men, as they have struggled to cope with being abandoned underground for so long and have created a routine devised to keep them both physically and mentally healthy. From the cave-in until they established contact with the surface 17 days later, the miners rationed themselves to two spoonfuls of tuna, half a biscuit and a half-glass of milk every 48 hours.

Once rescuers on the surface discovered the men with a narrow perforation drill, they began sending them hydration gel, soup and medication in narrow plastic tubes called "doves".

Later, doctors transferred the men to a solid diet including meat and rice, with a strict 2,200 calorie limit to keep them slim enough to fit into the evacuation shaft just 2ft in diameter.

In the tunnel near the shelter where the men initially took refuge, they set up a chemical toilet and latrines, along with a duct providing drinkable water.

The first sign of life from the miners came on 22 August when knocking was heard on a drill head as it reached the mine's depths. Rescuers withdrew the drill to find a note attached reading, "The 33 of us in the shelter are well."

Once the first borehole established a lifeline to the men, letters began to pass between loved-ones via the "doves."

Later came a fibre-optic line enabling phone calls and video-conferencing.

Doctors have also been able to pass down a biometric belt in recent days that allows the miners to monitor and transmit their vital signs to the surface using wireless technology.

Once they were discovered, the men quickly established a regular meal schedule including breakfast, lunch, dinner and an afternoon tea.

Supported by a 500watt power line, they installed lights to simulate day and night to diminish the impact of their eventual return to the surface.

Physiologists have set up obligatory exercise schedules to keep the men fit for their trying passage up the escape shaft, when they may have to hold the same posture for as much as an hour. They cannot be sedated, say experts, as they may have to "work" to help the capsule negotiate any obstructions in the shaft.

In recent weeks, the miners have begun to help with the drilling process, taking shifts to clear away debris that falls into the tunnel of the mine.

Several of the men are football fanatics and one has even played professionally, so despite their isolation they managed to install a live feed of games like Chile's friendly match against Ukraine to watch using a small projector.

They have also received videos of football greats including Brazil's Pele and Argentina's Maradona and set up an area of their refuge for a small "casino" where they play cards, dominoes and dice games.

In recent weeks psychologists on the surface gave permission for them to get recent editions of national newspapers.

The miners have also received small music players and speakers as well as Bibles and rosaries blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.

One of the miners' most relished gifts was a small high-definition video camera with which they've recorded a large part of their ordeal. Despite the hazards they confront, the men have maintained high spirits and the most distinguished humourists among them have dispatched eight hours of their favourite jokes on film. But while the men have had to make do with the basics during their underground ordeal, the worst may yet be to come, as they struggle to come to terms with life on the surface.