However, Pinera said that the rescue of the workers inside the mine will take "months" because it is a difficult work as the shelter is some 700 meters deep.
Pinera added that as soon as they know they are alive, they will send them water and glucose to stabilize their condition and then food, through plastic tubes called "doves" so they can continue to stay inside the mine.
Meanwhile, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said that the aid for the miners "will be sent in some six hours."
Rescue works chief Andre Sougarret said that in coming hours they will send a camera inside the mine with video and audio reception so they can have permanent communication with the miners.
The rescuers are also waiting for a special drilling machine in order to enlarge the well from where the message was sent.
Since the miners were trapped inside the mine on Aug. 5, the rescuers had not been able to make contact with them, which had aroused worries among the authorities, as the shelter inside the mine only had water and food for some three days.
The miners have been trapped since Aug. 5 in a collapse at the San Jose gold and silver mine in northern Chile, 800 kilometers north to Santiago.
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