The Ten Most Adorable Miners Rescued in Chile

The first miner to emerge, Ávalos is married with two children. He may have faced the brunt of media attention being the first up among the saved men, but his friends describe him as "shy."

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"Super Mario," as the number two miner out is now called, is the breakout star of the whole rescue effort, the Huffington Post says. He's quoted in The Telegraph as saying "I make a plea to the media to not treat us as like an artist or a showbusiness figure." Too late for that!

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At 63, Heredia's the oldest Chilean who was trapped. Unluckily, he was planning to retire right before the collapse occurred. Now he's free to do so.

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He's only 19, and he said upon returning to fresh air that he's looking forward to his mother's cooking.

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Yanez's wife had a baby during the time spent underground. He sent her a letter with a suggestion for the name: Esperanza, the Spanish word for hope.

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Zamora wrote poetry to his wife and mother while entombed.

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After surviving the deadly Chilean earthquake last February, Bustos decided to take what he thought was a safer job as a miner.

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Segovia kept a journal during his time trapped in the mine, earning him the nickname "The Writer."

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A pro soccer player in Chile as well as a miner, Lobos received a signed jersey from David Villa, who played on the World Cup-winning Spanish team.

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His nickname is "El Doctor" for vaccinating other miners against the flu, and when he rose from the mine he had to deal with someone else's love sickness. His wife had discovered that Barrios had been keeping a mistress, and refused to see him rescued. His mistress, though, was there to greet him.

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