( CNN ) -- Nine Peruvian miners emerged into the daylight Wednesday morning after six days trapped in a collapsed mine . State television showed the miners leaving the mine , each supported by two rescuers . They wore sunglasses to protect their eyes from the light , after spending so much time in darkness . For days , a tube snaked down to the collapsed cavern was the only connection the miners had to the surface . It provided them with oxygen , food and water , as well as communication . Peruvian President Ollanta Humala greeted the miners at the mouth of the mine . The group unfurled the red and white Peruvian flag and waved at television cameras . `` We are happy that this high-risk operation was successful , '' said Claudio Saenz , a fire department official with knowledge of the rescue efforts . The miners had been stuck since Thursday in the wildcat Cabeza de Negro mine in southern Peru . A cave-in over the weekend slowed rescue efforts . It was not clear what caused the initial collapse . Humala 's government has made a push for illegal mines and miners in Peru to be formalized and regulated so that risks decrease . After the rescue , he made a similar argument . `` This should lead us to reflect that we have to avoid these kind of risks because the results will not always be like today , '' he said . Mining is big business in Peru , which is a major world producer of copper , silver , gold and other minerals . The ordeal stirred memories of a 2010 Chilean mine collapse in which 33 men were trapped underground for 69 days . All those miners were rescued , pulled one by one from hundreds of meters beneath the Earth 's surface with a specially designed capsule .
NEW : Humala renews his call to regulate illegal mines . The New York Times reports that the former presidential candidate is calling for a new mining law in Peru and has called on President Barack Obama to do more about it. The president was waiting to greet them as they emerged into the daylight . In 2010 , 33 miners were rescued after being trapped underground for 69 days in Chile .