Chile miners reach surface

The first 15 of 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months in northern Chile have been winched to the surface amid scenes of jubilation.
Florencio Avalos, the first to be released, was greeted by family and President Sebastian Pinera when he emerged.
A minute after the "Phoenix" capsule reached the top of the rescue shaft, Mr Avalos stepped out and was greeted by his family, rescuers and the president and the First Lady, Cecilia Morel.
Bystanders cheered and clapped, and then started chanting "Chile".

All the freed miners are being taken to a triage centre for health checks

The operation has run smoothly so far. Health Minister Jaime Manalich said that if working conditions stayed the same, the rescue should be completed in one-and-a-half days, half a day quicker than predicted.
The men have been trapped underground since 5 August, when a rockfall caused a tunnel to collapse.

winch = levantar con un torno......shaft = hueco, pozo.................clap = aplaudir

surface = superficie......................step out = salir.......................triage = médico

amid = en medio de......................bystander = testigo, mirón......smoothly = sin problemas

release = liberar............................cheer = vitorear................so far = hasta ahora
The next to be freed were:

• Mario Sepulveda, who brought a bag of stones from the mine as souvenirs; he ran towards a group of rescuers and led them in song.
• Juan Illanes, a former soldier who urged his fellow miners to be disciplined and organized while trapped
• The only non-Chilean, Bolivian Carlos Mamani; Bolivian President Evo Morales spoke to Mr Mamani at the triage centre
• Jimmy Sanchez, the youngest miner at 19; he had only been working at the mine for five months and had been showing signs of anxiety
• Osman Araya, who had a hugely emotional reunion with his wife
• Jose Ojeda, whose scribbled note - which read "All 33 of us are safe in the shelter" - informed the world the miners were still alive, 17 days after the rockfall that trapped them
• Claudio Yanez, who was met by his partner of 11 years, Cristina Nunez; during the ordeal, they agreed to marry
• Mario Gomez, at 63 the oldest miner, who sent up a letter shortly after the miners were found to be alive, expressing love for his family and saying that the mining company "has got to modernise"
• Alex Vega, who was met by his wife Jessica Salgado, who said earlier that she had eased his fears over debts by telling him she had cleared them
• Jorge Galleguillos, who said the journey to the surface was very smooth; "The only thing I wanted was to reach the top," he told President Pinera at the triage centre
• Edison Pena, who became known as "the runner" because he ran up to 5km (3 miles) a day through the mine tunnels to keep himself fit, even in the 30-35C heat
• Carlos Barrios, who reached the surface shortly before 1000 local time (1400 GMT)
• Victor Zamora, not a miner but a driver who had gone underground to repair a vehicle and was trapped by the rockfall