Chilean Embassy In D.C. Celebrates Miners' Rescue

In the District, officials and staff of the Chilean embassy in Northwest, like much of the world, are celebrating the rescue of the 33 miners from Chile's San Jose Mine.

A jumbotron parked outside the embassy on Massachusetts Avenue just south of Dupont Circle has displayed every moment of the operation. More than half of the nearly three dozen miners trapped deep in the earth for 69 days are being rescued in a worldwide effort, led by Chilean ingenuity.

Chilean ambassador to the United States, Arturo Fernandjua, says his hopes run high.

"We are anxious, kind of nervous too, but probably this is going to be finished...probably by tonight," he says.

Throughout the rescue, some miners emerged quietly. Others like Mario Sepulveda, the second to emerge, erupted in celebration. Rose Quint, who's originally from Venezuela, says the moment touched her profoundly.

"It's the ingenuity of the human being, the resilience, the faith of human being that keeps us all glued to the television. To see them shine like that, it's very nice," Quint says.

The 33 miners survived longer underground that anyone in recorded history.