Beaconsfield, Australia ? Wedged for nearly a week in a cramped cage a half-mile underground, two gold miners got right to the point when rescuers made radio contact: “Get us out.”

The words brought joy to this town of 3,000 on the southern Australian island state of Tasmania, but officials said it could be two more days before emergency crews would be able to rescue the trapped men.

Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, were trapped April 25 by a cave-in that killed another miner. Webb and Russell apparently were saved by a slab of rock that fell onto the cage of their cherry-picker and prevented smaller rocks from hitting them after a small earthquake.

To reach the two miners, rescue workers must tunnel through 40 feet of collapsed rock without triggering another collapse.

On Monday, rescuers fed the trapped men biscuits, water, a protein drink and vitamin tablets through a tube. The men had been getting by on rancid water that drips through the rocks. Enough oxygen also got through to keep them alive.

Mine manager Matthew Gill said Webb and Russell were overjoyed to receive their first sustenance in six days – even though it wasn’t quite their requested meal of bacon and eggs. He said rescuers would make sure the men have enough food as work continues to free them from the mine.

Prime Minister John Howard paid tribute to the people of Beaconsfield, saying they had shown “incredible resilience.”

“All Australians will share the joy of the families of the two miners found alive at Beaconsfield, and that of the local community,” he said. “We must all hope that the two men are safely brought to the surface and reunited with their loved ones.”

Russell’s family was even able to joke about the ordeal.

“Todd’s putting in for meal allowance, overtime pay and living away from home allowance, so I hope they’ve got their checkbook ready,” said the miner’s mother, Kaye Russell.

Mining is dangerous work. In January, 14 U.S. miners died in two accidents at mines in West Virginia. In Mexico, 65 miners died in February after an explosion trapped them underground. However, in Canada, 72 potash miners walked away from an underground fire and toxic smoke in January after being locked down overnight in airtight chambers with oxygen, food and water.