The operation to free the crew stranded underground in Chile is more than three-quarters completed, as 28 of the 33 trapped workers, including all of the weakest and sickest, have been pulled to freedom at the San Jose Mine.

The latest rescued miner is 27-year-old Richard Villarroel Goday. Colleagues say he is an easygoing guy, who will become a father this November. His mother and daughter waited anxiously at the gate of the site. The 27th rescued miner is Franklin Lobos Ramirez. His daughter had been waiting for him for a very long time, and when she saw her father, she couldn't help but hug him tightly.

The 26th rescued miner to reach the surface, about a half-hour earlier, was Claudio Acuna. He had been working in the mine just three days, when it collapsed on August 5th. He celebrated his birthday underground, and has since moved up his wedding, which was originally planned for February.

With remarkable speed and flawless execution, one miner after another has climbed into a slender cage deep beneath the Chilean terrain. Officials say the remaining members of the group will be out by the end of the day, rather than 48 hours, as originally estimated. They are being hoisted through 610 meters of rock, and finally saw precious sunlight on Wednesday, after the longest underground entrapment in human history. Their amazing rescue is being broadcast live, and watched by millions around the world.

Beginning just before midnight Tuesday, local time, the workers have been climbing out of the Phoenix Rescue Capsule. They are being given oxygen masks, dark glasses to protect their eyes from the sudden glare of daylight, and sweaters for the jarring cold weather of the desert.

Medics monitor them by video for any signs of panic on the way up. After emerging, they're greeted by the Chilean President Sebastian Pinera at the gate, and then reunite with their relatives in a nearby room. The next step is an initial health evaluation, before the miners are placed under observation for two days at a local hospital.

With ingenuity and cutting-edge technology, the men have survived 69 days underground fending off hunger, anxiety and illness in a record-setting feat of survival.

From the August the 5th collapse until they established contact with the surface 17 days later, the miners rationed themselves to two spoonfuls of tuna, half a cookie and a half-full glass of milk every 48 hours.

Once rescuers on the surface discovered the men with a narrow perforation drill, they began sending them hydration gel, soup and medication in narrow plastic tubes called "doves."

Later, doctors transferred the men to a solid diet including meat and rice, with a strict 2,200 calorie diet to keep them slim enough to fit in the evacuation shaft just two 66 centimeters in diameter.

In the tunnel near the shelter where the men initially took refuge, they set up a chemical toilet and latrines, along with a duct providing drinking water.

The first sign of life from the miners came on August the 22nd, when knocking was heard on a drill head as it reached the depths of the mine. Rescuers withdrew the drill to find a note attached reading, "The 33 of us in the shelter are well."

Once the first bore hole established a lifeline to the men, letters began to pass between loved ones via the "doves." Later came a fiber optic line enabling phone calls and video-conferencing.

Doctors were also able to pass down a biometric belt which allowed the miners to monitor and transmit their vital body information to the surface using wireless technology.

Supported by a 500 watt power line, these trapped miners installed lights to simulate day and night to diminish the impact of their eventual return to the surface.

Doctors set up obligatory exercise schedules to keep the men fit for their trying passage up the escape shaft, which involved holding the same posture for an extended period.

In recent weeks, the miners began to help with the drilling process, taking shifts to clear away debris that fell into the tunnel of the mine.Psychologists on the surface gave permission for them to get recent editions of national newspapers.

The miners have also received small music players and speakers as well as Bibles and rosaries blessed by Pope Benedict.

And here is a timeline of the events, in what has become a historic mine rescue operation.

On August 5th, a cave-in leaves 33 miners trapped about 625 meters underground in a small copper-and-gold mine near the northern Chilean city of Copiapo, about 800 kilometers north of the capital Santiago.

The mine's owners, a local private company called, Compania Minera San Esteban Primera, notifies authorities several hours later, saying they first had to evaluate the situation.

The next day, Chile's Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, cuts short a visit to Ecuador and flies back to Chile to lead the rescue effort in Copiapo. Mine authorities pin their hopes on the possibility that the trapped miners have reached a shelter where oxygen, water and food had been stored.

On August 7th, rescue workers begin descending toward a shelter via a ventilation shaft but are forced to abandon that route when a fresh cave-in blocks the duct.

President Sebastian Pinera cuts short his visit to Colombia and returns to Chile to be with family members of the trapped miners at a temporary camp set up near the mine.

On August 8th, rescue workers begin drilling bore-holes 12 centimeters in diameter into the mine to try to locate the miners.

On August 19th, the farthest-along drill reaches the level in the mine where authorities presumed the miners to be, but does not hit the shelter or encounter any signs of the miners.

On August 22nd, a drill reaches a depth of 688 meters and rescue workers hear tapping on the drill. In the afternoon, Pinera announces the miners had tied a note to the drill that said: "The 33 of us in the shelter are well."

One day after, food, water and medicine are lowered to the miners, who were running low on supplies found in the rescue chamber.

On September 17th, a rescue drill reaches the miners. The small hole is widened over the next month to prepare for their evacuation.

October 4th, Golborne says the miners could be rescued in the second half of the month. The men have started to prepare for their trip home by sending back gifts to the surface, including soccer jerseys signed by Pele and rosaries blessed by the

Pope.

On October 8th, Golborne says a rescue shaft could reach the miners as early as that day and evacuation of the miners could begin the next week.

The day after, rescue workers finish drilling an escape shaft about 625 meters deep to a slightly higher part of the tunnel, triggering jubilant celebrations. The government says the men will be evacuated within days.

October 11th, rescue workers finish reinforcing the escape shaft with metal tubes to avoid any last-minute disaster and successfully test one of the evacuation capsules.