Miner Raul Bustos, left, is seen following his rescue from the collapsed San Jose gold and copper mine where he had been trapped with 32 other miners for over two months near Copiapo, Chile. (Hugo Infante/Associated Press)

A "miracle," a triumph for capitalism, a victory, a moment of great humanity — that's how editorial writers around the globe described the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners.

Here is a roundup of opinion and editorials on the success of the rescue mission and what the story itself told us about ourselves.

The Telegraph

The miracle of San Jose

Telegraph View: We witnessed a moment of great humanity.

In these secular times, we are reluctant to talk of miracles. But no such reticence was on display in Copiapo, Chile, yesterday, as the first of the 33 miners trapped underground for 70 days was brought to the surface. The rescue has, indeed, been nothing short of miraculous. After the tunnel collapse on Aug. 5 at the San Jose mine in the Atacama Desert, nothing was known of the miners' fate for 17 days.

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The Toronto Star

Chilean mine rescue: Human spirit triumphs

In a triumph of human spirit, and modern ingenuity, a group of Chilean miners buried alive for more than two months began emerging — one by one — to a jubilant reception on Wednesday. Millions around the world watched with anticipation akin to that of the first moon landing. And they weren't disappointed as the first miner plucked from 625 metres below the surface, 31-year-old Florencio Avalos, emerged from a rescue capsule into the arms of his family.

Weeks of suspense turned into sustained celebration as more of the 33 trapped miners followed at roughly one-hour intervals. A high-risk gamble, with lives literally hanging in the balance, appeared to have paid off.

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The Huffington Post

Chilean Transcendence

Miners. Trapped. No way out. Miraculously rescued. Happy end. End of story.

Not so fast.

The resurrection of Chile's lost miners is a testament to the power of belonging and meaning in human life. We humans live singularly evanescent lives. Our consciousness is like to the Moth: Done in the flicker of candlelight on a summer night. Gone in an instant.

Yet we live on because eternal hope lives in our collective self. We draw meaning from the river of humanity.

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Christian Science Monitor

Chile rescue of miners recalls 'better angels'

From the resilience and courage of the miners to the remarkable rescue effort 2,000 feet above them, the miner rescue proves that ingenuity and determination can triumph over a huge challenge.

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The Globe and Mail

The Chilean miners' victory of body and spirit

The world rejoices for the 33 Chilean miners, whose rescue is well under way, for their own sake and because they are an emblem of human resiliency. Resiliency, more than technology, is at the heart of what has transfixed the world in the rescue. Long before modern technology brought its miracles to the trapped miners — its vitamin-packed gels, its video devices and, finally, its blessed drills and rescue cage — the men proved their mettle. In 17 days with no contact with the outside world, 33 men shared 660 square feet of living space (plus attached tunnels), and lived on a spoonful of tuna every 48 hours. It was not Lord of the Flies down there.

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USA Today

Chile's miners pull a fractured world together

All too often, the news is a depressing drumbeat of what went wrong: Joblessness in the U.S.A. War in Afghanistan. Flooding in Pakistan. Murder in Mexico.

So the hourly miracles broadcast Wednesday to a transfixed world, as the trapped miners in Chile emerged one by one from nearly a half mile under the earth's surface, provided both a welcome respite and an inspiring reaffirmation of man's ability to persevere under extraordinary circumstances.

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The Australian

Rescue up there with Apollo 13

The Chilean mine recovery touched an elemental human chord across the planet.

It is the greatest escape since NASA engineers guided the crew of Apollo 13 back to Earth, using the stricken lunar landing module as a "lifeboat."

The rescue of the Chilean miners, like the Apollo 13 story 40 years ago, came about through teamwork, the extraordinary fortitude of the crew combined with the technological brilliance of their rescuers on the ground. It transformed looming tragedy into spectacular triumph. And, like that other great rescue, it touched the world's heart. Such tales have a special power to uplift and inspire. Every rescued victim of fire, flood and earthquake is poignant, but when a miner is saved, or an astronaut or submariner survives disaster, it moves us in a particular way.

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Wall Street Journal

Capitalism Saved the Miners

The profit-equals-innovation dynamic was everywhere at the mine rescue site.

It needs to be said: The rescue of the Chilean miners is a smashing victory for free-market capitalism.

Amid the boundless human joy of the miners' liberation, it may seem churlish to make such a claim. It is churlish. These are churlish times and the stakes are high.

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The Hindu

Magnificent and moving

The rescue of miners trapped in the bowels of the earth in Chile's San Jose mine in Copiapo has inspired awe and admiration round the world — for the way humanitarian values fused with state-of-the-art technology to score an unparalleled and moving triumph. To keep 33 miners trapped in a gold and copper mine 700 metres under the earth's surface safe and in reasonably good physical and mental health for 69 days was a challenge with few precedents. On Wednesday, the world exulted as 31-year-old Florencio Avalos, who had done wonders for the morale of his comrades, emerged from a special rescue capsule. The workers whose bare-chested images in their sweltering dwelling had become familiar to people worldwide were reborn, thanks to a modern-day secular miracle.