Prime Minister Hun Sen has praised the Chilean government for last week’s successful rescue of 33 miners who had been trapped since August following a partial mine collapse.

A statement issued Friday by the Council of Ministers said that Hun Sen regarded the rescue effort as a “lesson and experience” that officials could learn from when facing challenges in Cambodia. “Samdech Techo Hun Sen applauds the excellent help from the Chilean government for the 33 trapped miners,” it said.

The men were trapped on the August 5 by a huge rock collapse inside the mine and had been almost given up for dead before a probe sent down through a narrow bore hole stuck lucky on August 22.

Thirty-two of the miners were released from hospital on Saturday with one man remaining in the clinic for treatment of a dental problem, after they were all successfully rescued last Wednesday.