Trapped miner makes marriage proposal half a mile underground

ESTEBAN Rojas, one of the trapped miners hoping to be reunited with his loved ones, yesterday vowed to marry the mother of his three children.

In what represents one of most unusual proposals, Mr Rojas, 44, sent a note to his partner, Jessica Yanez, through one of the boreholes connecting the men to the world above.

On a piece of scrap paper, the maintenance mechanic made clear his intentions, writing simply: "When I get out, let's buy the dress and we'll get married."

Having received the message from half-a-mile underground, a delighted Ms Yanez accepted, and later had the chance to speak to Mr Rojas for around 20 seconds when a telephone line was set up on Sunday.

"I was worried he might not mention it again, but he said we should get married in church," the 43-year-old said afterwards. "He'd asked me if I've already chosen the dress. Of course I told him we would get married.

"I think he thought about his family at that moment ... and that gave him the strength to fight on."

The couple have been together for 25 years, and have three children and two grandchildren. They had a civil wedding years soon after falling in love, but never had a church ceremony, as is customary in Chile.

With the rescue operation likely to go on for another three to four months, Ms Yanez said she is prepared to wait a while longer.

"We know the rescue will take a long time, but we won't lose hope," she added. "He always said he planned to grow old with me, and I plan to grow old with him. Our love is very deep."