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maleficent · 05-08-2006, 03:24 PM

Quote:

BEACONSFIELD, Australia (CNN) -- Rescuers have freed two Australian gold miners who had been trapped underground for two weeks after a cave-in that killed a co-worker, the mine's manager said Tuesday.

Todd Russell, 35, and Brant Webb, 37, had been trapped in a steel cage since April 25, when a small earthquake triggered a rock fall in the Tasmanian gold mine where they worked. Rescuers had been working for more than a week to free them.

"It's fantastic that these men are out," Bill Shorten, secretary of the Australian Workers Union, told reporters.

The miners were freed about 5 a.m. Tuesday (7 p.m. GMT Monday), and about an hour later emerged from the mine. The bearded men appeared in good condition, smiling and receiving hugs.

They were driven slowly away in separate ambulances with the doors open, flashing thumbs-up signs and waving.

Townspeople summoned by sirens that had announced the rescue lined the road outside the mine's entrance, applauding as the vehicles passed by.

The men, who had been trapped in a prone position, were examined in an underground chamber before being brought to the surface, mine manager Matthew Gill said.

Webb and Russell have been getting oxygen, food, water and items such as magazines and iPods through a plastic pipe since they were found April 30.

A third miner, 44-year-old Larry Knight, was killed in the quake. Knight's family said they would hold his funeral Tuesday in Launceston, Tasmania.

Protected by the steel safety cage they were working in, Webb and Russell were reported to have suffered little more than scratches in the rock fall.

Rescuers had to drill upwards through the rock to reach them. The miners were asked to help in the rescue effort by preparing the cavity in which they were stuck.

They were asked to solidify any loose rocks they could reach and to prepare an area on the floor where the rescuers would eventually break through.

Rescuers reached the men on Thursday through a 16-meter (52-foot) pilot tunnel, but it was not large enough for the miners to fit through. (Watch how the men are awaiting rescue in the gold mine -- 3:08)

Concerns that large vibrations could dislodge more rock and cause another cave-in forced rescue specialists to use hand tools, including jackhammers and a chainsaw, to work towards the men. (Watch how rescuers are trying to make it to the miners -- 3:05 )

The rescuers also used low-impact explosives to split the rocks so they could chisel them away.

Rescue organizers described the final section of rock being removed as being "five time harder than concrete".

Shorten said earlier Monday that workers were shoring up a rescue tunnel to avoid a cave-in when they drilled through to the men.

"If you dislodge this fill in the wrong way all of a sudden a whole lot of other dirt can fall into this tunnel and you could dislodge the rocks which led to the fatality of Larry Knight," Shorten told Australian television's Nine network.

Before the rescue, the miners were described as being in good spirits. One of the men has joked that he is resigning from the mine, and asked for a newspaper so he could check the help-wanted ads.

Rescuers joked the operation could be complicated by the size of the men, who have been eating five meals a day, including omelets and soup passed through the narrow pipe.

"They are big blokes," mine spokesman Michael Lester told The Associated Press. "They have been joking that if they keep eating as well as they have, the tunnel will have to be greased to get them out."

The frantic efforts to rescue the miners have captivated Australia.

you were pretty close dlish... and very cool that tehy got them out..