"We made a promise to never surrend byer, and we kept it," President Sebastian Pinera said as he waited to greet the miners, whose endurance and unity captivated the world as Chile meticulously prepared their rescue.
Video footage from Chile's state TV showed communication cables being lowered down the rescue shaft at the mine. Crews were also working on the shoulder-wide rescue capsule.
Mining Minister Laurence Golborne told reporters late Tuesday that engineers would make some changes to the communication systems in the capsule, test it, and then begin the rescue operation. He said one miner likely would be freed by the end of the day on Tuesday.
"This story started as a tragedy and we hope that in a few hours, it'll end in a miracle," Pinera said to reporters gathered at the mine site.
Video: Watch live video of rescue operation (on this page)
"I hope that family members, before the day is over, start to hug their fathers, brothers, sons," he said.
Pinera told the mother of 31-year-old Florencio Avalos that he'll be the first of 33 men to be rescued from the collapsed mine.
"I am not surprised" that he was chosen, his mother Maria Silva said after word reached the family. "I am so proud of him."
Avalos is a married father of two children and one of the mining crew bosses.
Florencio Avalos will be followed by Mario Sepulveda, 39, an electrician, and then by Carlos Mamani, the only Bolivian in the group, according to media reports, which cited government officials.
"We made a promise to never surrender, and we kept it," Pinera said shortly before two rescue workers were expected to go down to prepare the miners for their trip.
Nervous wives, children, parents and friends waited on an arid, rocky hillside around 2,050 feet above the miners, and rescue teams planned to start hoisting the men to the surface beginning about 7 p.m. Eastern time.
Chile has taken extensive precautions to ensure the miners' health and privacy, sending down Navy special forces paramedics to prepare them for the trip and using a screen to block the top of the shaft from more than 1,000 journalists at the scene.
Earlier, anticipation grew as Golborne said the rescue would begin Tuesday evening, hours ahead of schedule.
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The men have spent 69 days in the hot, humid bowels of a gold and copper mine in Chile's northern Atacama desert after an Aug. 5 collapse, and now face a harrowingly claustrophobic journey to the surface in specially-made capsules.
Asked about the biggest technical problem that could hit the rescue operation, coordinator Andre Sougarett said: "A rock could fall."
"There is no need to try to start guessing what could go wrong. We have done that job," a confident Golborne said. "We have hundreds of different contingencies."
Rescuers were keeping the miners busy on final preparations they were to climb into the capsule for what tests indicated should be a smooth ride to the outside world.
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The rescue of all the miners is expected to take about 48 hours, NBC News reported, with crews working around the clock. It will take approximately one hour for each miner to reach the surface — a few minutes to situate a miner in the capsule, 10-15 minutes travel time upward, and then 25-30 minutes to drop the escape cage down the shaft again.
The only media allowed to record them coming out of the shaft will be a government photographer and Chile's state television channel. Their images will be delayed about 30 seconds or more to prevent the release of anything unexpected.
Panic attacks are the rescuers' biggest concern. The miners will not be sedated — they need to be alert in case something goes wrong. If a miner must get out more quickly, rescuers will accelerate the capsule to a maximum 3 meters per second, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said.
As the miners emerge, they will be sheltered from the glare of TV cameras. They will get an immediate medical check and gather with a few family members in an area closed to the news media. Officials say a siren will sound as each miner emerges.
Then, they will ride in helicopters — two at a time if they are in beds, or four at a time if they can sit up — to the regional hospital in Copiapo for a battery of physical and psychological exams.
"Our job is to provide benefit and not harm," Manalich said, urging the media — more than 1,000 journalists are working on the story — to respect their privacy. "We have to protect them until the last minute, until they can return to normal lives with their families."
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Scene at 'Camp Hope'
Meanwhile, relatives were waiting at the tent settlement dubbed "Camp Hope" and ready to celebrate.
"Right now I'm calm, though still very anxious. I hope my nerves don't betray me when the rescue starts," said Jessica Salgado, whose husband Alex is trapped below.
President Pinera, who ordered a revamp of mine safety regulations in the wake of the accident, arrived at the mine on Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of the rescue. One of the miners is a Bolivian national and Bolivian President Evo Morales has also vowed to visit the mine for his rescue.
As for the miners, they were kept busy Tuesday making final preparations "to keep their spirits up," Manalich said. He added that they were doing well: "It remains a paradox — they're actually much more relaxed than we are."
Rescuers finished reinforcing the top of the 2,041-foot (622-meter) escape shaft early Monday, and the 13-foot (four-meter) tall capsule descended flawlessly in test runs. The white, blue and red capsule — the biggest of three built by Chilean navy engineers — was named Phoenix I for the mythical bird that rises from ashes.
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think they are doing great, i just hope they get them out as fast as possible
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