COPIAPO, Chile, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Most of the 33 miners trapped more than 2,000 feet below ground in a Chilean mine for more than two months were released from hospital Friday.
While the men seem to be physically fit after their ordeal, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said some were showing signs of psychological stress, the Los Angeles Times reported. A mass of thanksgiving planned for Sunday at the San Jose mine was canceled because officials decided the miners were not psychologically ready for it.
"Ideally, they need a period of rest because they are still on emotional roller coasters," Manalich said. "They still have to process what they went through, to let their experiences settle, have their nightmares and let out their anxieties."
The miners also have to cope with international fame.
One of them, Juan Illanes, 52, told friends and neighbors: "This is really incredible. It hasn't sunk in."
The miners were rescued this week at the gold and copper mine at Copiapo after 69 days underground, a record for survival in a collapsed mine. They underwent tests and received treatment at a hospital, where doctors said the men were in amazingly good health considering their living conditions underground, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.
One miner has pneumonia and some needed dental work but none suffered from serious health problems.
"I didn't think I'd make it back, so this reception really blows my mind," said Edison Pena, 34, a triathlete who ran 6 miles a day underground after the mine collapse Aug. 5 to cope with the stress.
