Chilean officials hope to rescue miners 'by weekend' Published duration 5 October 2010

image caption Above ground there are games to pass the time

Engineers drilling to reach 33 trapped miners in Chile say the men might be rescued as early as this weekend.

The head of one of the drilling operations, Pedro Buttazzoni, told the BBC his drill had only 160m (524ft) further to go to reach the men.

However, the man overseeing the entire operation has been more cautious about the timetable for their rescue.

The miners have now been trapped underground for two months, longer than any previous group.

Mr Buttazzoni, the head of the Chilean mining company Geotec, said his drill had already cut through 464m (1,500ft) of rock.

He said his team expected to break through to the area wherespecially made steel capsule, designed by the Chilean navy, will be lowered.

The plan is for navy commandos to go down to assess the situation and help the miners use the rescue capsule.

It is expected to take an hour to pull each of the trapped men to the surface.

The miners have even begun to send prized possessions and mementos which they don't want to leave behind up to the surface using small capsules, known as "doves," in which they have been receiving supplies through narrow boreholes.

Miners' relatives, who have been camping at the site for the past two months, are preparing a party to celebrate their rescue.

Protest

The men were trapped by a rockfall at the mine near Copiapo, about 725km (450 miles) north of the Chilean capital Santiago, on