Medical team writes list to decide order of rescue for Chile miners

As the moment of freedom for the 33 men draws closer, details emerged of the planned rescue operation, expected as soon as the weekend.

First down the shaft will be three paramedics with the Chilean navy's special forces followed by 13 rescue experts with the state-owned mining company Codelco. They will work in shifts during the 48 hours it will take to evaluate the men and strap them into the escape capsule for their 15-20 minute ride to the surface.

The paramedics will have the power to change the list, already prepared, that suggests the order of rescue.

The list is based on daily examinations of the miners' physical and mental health and strength of character during more than two months of captivity, said Commander Renato Navarro, the Chilean navy's submarine chief.

The first one up should be someone capable of handling a frightening setback in the narrow shaft, and describing how the next ones up might avoid problems, he said. "The most able miners will leave first: those who can better describe to the next how they might avoid the potential problems that the capsule might encounter. Then those with illnesses or who suffer from one problem or another. And finally the last to surface are the strongest physically or in terms of their character."

Cmdr Navarro would not reveal the list's order as it might change if one suffers a health setback, and because the paramedics will ultimately make their own judgment calls. "The paramedics will have the last word," he said.

Chile's mining minister Laurence Golborne said the rescue drill should reach the miners' cavern about 2,000 feet underground some time tomorrow, and that the rescue could begin anywhere from two to 10 days later, based on the risks involved.

The men were trapped by a rockfall on August 5 at the San Jose mine in Copiapo, about 450 miles north of the capital, Santiago. The most physically fit is Edison Pena, who has been running 10 kilometres a day down below.

Likely to come up next are those with chronic illnesses, like Jose Ojeda with diabetes and Jorge Galleguillos with hypertension, and those who are older, like Mario Gomez, the oldest at 63.

Many people believe the last man up will be shift supervisor Luis Urzua, whose leadership was credited with keeping the men alive on an emergency food supply during their first 17 days without contact from the surface.