Chilean miners prepare to see daylight

COPIAPO - The final stages of the operation to rescue 33 Chilean copper miners stuck 700 metres underground were put in place Monday, 48 hours before it is hoped they can be winched back to the surface.

Helicopters took part in practice flights over the mine in the Atacama desert overnight so that the miners, who have been trapped for two months, can be flown quickly to hospital after meeting with relatives.

On Wednesday rescuers hope to start lifting the miners to the surface one-by-one in a specially built escape capsule.

The narrow shaft which has been drilled down to the chamber where they are trapped reached the miners Saturday. It now needs to be stabilised with steel rods, due to be completed Monday, according to Health Minister Jaime Manalich.

The operation itself is expected to take two days, as it will take around an hour for the capsule to be raised and lowered. The men will be surveyed by sensors designed to keep watch on their medical health in case they have difficulties during the slow, confined journey to the surface.

The miners themselves were also preparing for the press attention - an enormous media presence is camped out by the remote mine.

The drama began when a shaft collapsed Aug 5. It was two weeks before rescuers could locate them and begin providing relief supplies via small bore holes.

Never before has a group people spent so long trapped so deep underground. The rescue operation is the longest and most complicated ever undertaken in mining.