The Most Inspirational Pictures of 2010

The Chilean Miners

An estimated 1 billion people from around the world watched as the last of 33 Chilean miners was winched to freedom. The men had survived an astounding 69 days beneath the surface; by all accounts, a miracle. Here, Luis Urzúa, the leader of the trapped miners and the last to be rescued, stands next to President Piñera as he raises his arm in triumph.

“As a group we had to keep faith, we had to keep hope,” Florencio Avalos, one of the rescued miners, said. “We had to all believe that we would survive.”