Chile ? Drilling equipment pounded its way into one of the caverns where 33 miners have been trapped for a month and a half, completing a bore hole ahead of schedule Friday and raising hopes that the men can be pulled out earlier than expected.

The 12-inch-wide drill guided by a pilot hole half its diameter reached 2,070 feet beneath the surface, puncturing the top of a passage near the chamber in the San Jose copper and gold mine where the men have taken refuge.

The next step is to place a wider drill on the rig and start a hole 28 inches across — wide enough for the miners to get out.

Video shot by the miners and released by the government later Friday showed scenes of bedlam below when the drill broke through, sending a shower of water and rock down into the chamber. “Viva Chile!” the miners cried, hugging each other and posing for the camera with broad smiles and headlamps beaming.