In the autumn, the world was gripped by the plight of 33 Chilean miners trapped 700m underground. All were rescued. Now one, Jose Henriquez, is touring the UK to tell his story. Mark Tallentire meets him.

JOSE HENRIQUEZ speaks as he believes himself to be: living evidence of a miracle. Several times during our interview, he breaks off half-way through an answer to praise God, lifting his palms to the heavens, or proclaiming, through the interpreter: “Glory to God, thank you Lord.”

“The living God exists,” he says.

“He’s a real God. He’s a God who loves the whole of humanity, who sent his son for love of humanity. He is alive, he is powerful and he loves us. He answers and responds to prayer.”

Asked his message for his audience, Mr Henriquez replies: “I want to encourage you to draw near to God, so that many will be converted, find Christ and enjoy this wonderful God. He’s a God of mercy who heals and restores, who liberates, breaks chains and the vice of evil.”

It’s a convincing, heartfelt appeal. The 56- year-old drillmaster turned evangelical preacher, known as The Pastor of Los 33, led his fellow captives in prayer, preached to them and requested 33 miniature Bibles be sent underground.

Since his rescue – he was the 24th miner brought out in the Phoenix capsule – he has been telling his story. And, it turns out, many are willing to listen. His 15-date UK tour has attracted huge interest, with thousands flocking to hear him speak of The 34th Man many of the miners said they felt with them in their hour of need.

“The 34th Man is the one we’re talking about,” Jose explains, taking questions shortly before speaking in Durham Cathedral last night.

“He’s always beside us. We can’t see him. But you can feel his presence in your heart. We believe in a power that is not seen, cannot be touched, but can be felt in the heart and that is our God – the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Asked what message he has for the North- East, he says: “My great friends, I would ask God to bless every one of you. I know there are many children of God among you. Please keep extending your faith and, with all freedom, speak to others about Jesus and the word of God. Keep believing in God, the God who’s real, the God who answers prayer.”

The San Jose copper and gold mine, in Chile’s Atacama Desert, collapsed on August 5. Two days later, a second collapse followed.

Jose, who was in an underground shelter for the first collapse and escaped uninjured, recalls: “I felt surprised and pressurised with the incredible speed at which everything happened.

Tons of rock were crashing down on us and the dust hung in the air for four hours. The explosion left us deaf.

“There’s no time to even think about yourself.

I wondered: ‘How can I help?’ “At first, the lack of food was hard. We heard the first drill coming and it missed us: it made us feel they would give us up for dead.

“I put myself in the hands of God, first of all.

I said: ‘Okay Lord, here I am – what do you want from me?’ “As we organised ourselves after the tragic event, we took on roles. We had a uniting interest in surviving and being rescued. My task was to guide us in prayer. I said to them: ‘Okay, but I want you to know, the children of God, we cry out to a living God’.”

So, twice a day the miners would form a circle, hold hands and pray, sharing their thoughts, feelings, fears and troubles.

“We humbled ourselves in the mud,” Jose says. “We touched God’s heart. God looks upon the one who humbles himself, but the proud man he looks at from afar.”

Twenty-two of the group became Christians underground.

“God healed people,” Jose says, “He reconciled relationships, restored people’s marriages.”

Rescue teams sent down listening probes and drilled boreholes, but it was not until 17 days after the collapse that contact was made.

“There was wild joy. Some danced and sang and jumped,” Jose beams.

A note was attached to a probe taken up to the surface, reading: “All 33 of us are well inside the shelter.”

The rescue saw each miner individually brought out in a cramped capsule. “It was a little bit tight,” Jose says.

The rescue, undertaken on October 13 – 69 days after the accident – lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes, cost US $20m and was watched live on television by a worldwide audience of one billion people.

ON reaching the surface, Jose embraced his wife. “She told me how she loved me and how she’d missed me. I gave glory to God and we glorified God together. I came out full of joy that God should have answered us,” he says.

“I wanted to hug my wife, my daughters, my family. I thought that was going to be the end of it; go back to my family, my church, singing to the Lord and serving the Lord.

“But there’s such an interest in this story, to find out more of the things of God and to find out how God did this. Maybe God has allowed all this just so the world can hear this story.

God has given me this.

“While this celebrity lasts, I’d like it to be a bridge to take the message of Jesus and this miracle that God has done for us. People in the street all seem to know me, so I am able to present the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“God has opened this door. He is a God who is alive, He hears prayer and the message that we want to encourage you with is that people can come and pray and discover and find God.

His ears are open.”

􀁧 The 34th Man Tour: A Chilean Miner Speaks, is organised by the Church Mission Society. For more information and tour details, visit cms-uk.org