The 39 miners who had been trapped underground since Sunday in northern Ontario have now all risen to the surface and are safe.
Their employer, Vale, who owns the Totten mine near Sudbury, announced Wednesday morning that the rescue operation was over.
“I want to congratulate our rescue team,” Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said in a statement.
“Getting our 39 employees home safe and healthy was our top priority and we are pleased that our emergency plans and procedures worked to achieve this result. All employees are safe now and deserve our deep respect for their persistence and steadfast will. “
The miners got stuck underground on Sunday when a heavy equipment shovel that had to be lowered to the bottom of the mine broke loose and blocked the mine shaft.
Some of the miners were trapped up to 1,200 meters below the surface, the company said.
To get to the surface, workers had to take a series of ladders with the help of a rescue team. The operation had started Monday evening.
A team of 58 responders from the company’s Rescue Team and the Ontario Mine Rescue Agency helped trapped workers throughout their long climb up the ladder system, said the ‘business.
“This is great news stemming from very difficult circumstances,” Bartolomeo said from the mine.
“All of us at Vale were focused on getting our employees safely back underground and we were committed to it. “
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Mr Bartolomeo said his company would launch an investigation into what happened “so that the company can learn from it and take action to ensure it does not happen again”.
Vale said that while awaiting help, the miners gathered at refuge stations, where they had access to food, water and medicine.
The Ontario Ministry of Labor, Training and Skills Development said an inspection team would investigate the incident.
The Totten mine opened in 2014 in Worthington, Ontario, and produces copper, nickel and precious metals. It employs around 200 people.
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