Rescue of Vale miners trapped underground in northern Ontario continues, with 35 of 39 now out

Thirty-five of the 39 miners trapped underground at a mine in northern Ontario since Sunday have climbed to the surface, and the rest are expected to join them sometime Tuesday.

The workers were stuck in Totten Mine in the Worthington area of Sudburywhen an accident damaged the elevatorknown as a cagethat normally carries them in and out of the mine.

Like most of the underground crew, Kyle Arcand, one of the miners who made it safely to the surface Tuesday morning, saidhe was concerned after hearing of the damage to the hoist.

"There's a lot of anxiety, right? Because you don't know exactly when you're going to come out, or how long you're going to be down there."

The workers were stuck at levels of between about 914 and 1,219 metres underground. Toronto's CN Tower, in comparison, is about 550 metres in height.

Mining company Vale announced on Monday night it was"relieved and delighted to see these individuals returning to surface safe and sound."

Vale spokesperson Danica Pagnuttispoke to one of the miners.

"He was in good spirits and happy to have some pizza to take home and just looking forward to getting home to his family and relaxing, but generally in really good spirits," she said.

"The miners are all healthy and eager to go home."

'Light at the end of the tunnel'

Shawn Rideout, who is co-ordinating the rescue effort for Ontario Mine Rescue (OMR), said there's "light at the end of the tunnel" as the remaining miners were expected to come to the surface sometime Tuesday.

"We are taking it slow so that we're not pushing anybody past their energy level," Rideout said.

The trapped miners are climbing up a series of ladders,some from as far down as 1,200 metres. They will be assisted by OMRofficers, one for every miner, and met by medical staff when they reach the surface.

The miners who have already been brought to surface arein good spirits, Rideout said.

"Everybody's doing fine here ... the workers come up, they are obviously happy to see the sunshine.but it's smiles all around and everything's progressing very well."

Arcandsaid he was feeling good and ready to see his family following the ordeal.

Hecredited Vale and OMRwith keeping the crew informed of how they were going to climb out of the mine.

"They do their best to try to tell you what's going on and whatnot," Arcand said. "So, a little bit of anxiety, and your family's worried and stuff, but all in all they made us feel pretty good. They brought us food and whatnot, and they reassured usstep by step with all the processes."

Ministry to begin investigation

A spokesperson from Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) said a team from the ministry, including experts in safety inspections and engineering, will begin investigating the incident to check if there were any contraventions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

A statement from the ministry said the incident was first reported to them Sunday, anda "scoop bucket rendered the hoist non-operational at Totten Mine."

Sudbury MayorBrian Biggeralso said the incident was "an equipment failure, not a mine failure."

"From that perspective. I think we all had pretty good confidence that the miners would be able to come out safely," Bigger said. "And obviously, we're watching very closely to ensure that every single last person ... can get back to surface.

"Throughout this period, there have been a number of people beyond the 39 miners that have been underground, and I'm happy to see that there's been no incidents.I'm quite relieved."

'Whole city is holding their breath'

Myles Sullivan, who represents the United Steelworkers Union, saidthe focus right nowfor both workers and Valeis to see the miners return safely on surface.

"A miner's greatest wish for their shift is that they come to the surface and either see the blue sky at the end of a long day or the stars at night, and they know they came up safely."

Sullivan said he was impressed with how different groups Vale, rescue teams, union and non-union workerscame together.

"Everyone who lives in Sudbury either knows someone, or has a family member or who works out one of the mines or mining operations," Sullivan said. "So the whole city is holding their breath and praying that these workers get up safely."

Once the workers are accounted for Sullivan said he prefers to say the workers were "stuck underground," not trappedthe union will look into the cause of the incident.

"It'll be a sigh of relief when the last person comes up, and then the attention will focus on what happened in the shaft and we'll start evaluating that and looking at that further."