such a dramatic moment. manuel gonzalez being lowered few the escape shaft, 10:19 p.m. eastern time. he was the first of six rescuers who would descend into that darkness. until that moment, the capsule had been tested unmanned and it had never been all the way down. the tests had gone well but there are never guarantees on any rescue operation, especially one this scale. the world waited with fingers crossed and what we saw minutes later was truly extraordinary. here's gary tuchman. >> reporter: 68 days after the collapse of the san jose mine, the beginning of the end of the saga is now clearly in sight. the world gasps in disbelief at the images, more than 2,000 feet underground. the first time anyone outside the immediate rescue team has seen live video of the miners.