EMOTIONAL RESCUE: Yonni Barrios walks into the arms of lover Susana Valenzuela before giving her a peck. He was one of 33 never-say-die miners making their way out of a 2,000-foot-deep tomb in a drama that captivated the world. (AFP/Getty Images)
Two-timing miner Yonni Barrios surfaced yesterday as the world watched breathlessly to see if his wife or his girlfriend was waiting to fall into his arms.
It was the mistress.
Barrios, one of 33 trapped Chilean miners, brazenly had invited both women, but his wife of 28 years, Marta Salinas, had too much pride to show up. In fact, she had even vowed not to turn on her TV to watch her husband emerge.
The drama surrounding Barrios and his dual loves almost overshadowed the happy ending of the rescue effort, as all the men were brought up — along with six rescuers — 69 days after the gold and copper mine collapsed on them.
PHOTOS: RESCUING THE CHILEAN MINERS
VIDEO: MARRIED MINER, YONNI BARRIOS, GREETED BY MISTRESS
The death-defying effort took just 22 hours, despite initial estimates that it could last more than two days.
Even though the entire nation was celebrating, Salinas said she has too much “decency” to share the spotlight with her husband’s mistress, Susana Valenzuela.
“This is very clear: It’s her or me,” Salinas told a local newspaper.
“In phone conversations and letters he’s sent to me, it’s clear that he’s fine, and that’s enough for me.”
Her decision not to attend even had the blessing of Chilean First Lady Cecilia Morel, who told her there was nothing wrong with her decision.
Salinas did say, “I’m happy he made it out. It’s a miracle of God.”
Barrios, 50, may have been disappointed, since he appeared to give Valenzuela a surprisingly chilly welcome.
Wearing a white hard hat, she fell into his arms and received a perfunctory hug and kiss. He wasn’t smiling — in fact, he wore an expression that seemed to say, “Oh, so it’s you.”
He also didn’t spend a lot of time with her. A rescue worker called out, “Yonni, how are you?”
“Good,” he muttered before making a quick getaway.
Salinas, 56, and her cheating hubby’s 45-year-old squeeze, Valenzuela, met at the end of August at a vigil atop the mine — and were shocked to discover they were there for the same man.
Red Cross workers had to break up the ensuing catfight.
The miner’s sister, Lidia, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph, “He loves them both. They are both important to him, and he wants them to be friends with each other.”
Barrios, an electrician, gained the admiration of his colleagues not only for his sexual prowess, but also because he knew so much about first aid that he was able to treat many of the injured miners. His co-workers nicknamed him Dr. House.
The 20 miners who preceded him out of the 2,000-foot hole screamed, “Doctor! Doctor!” as he emerged from the rescue capsule.
The final worker rescued was the foreman, Luis Urzua, 54, who joked: “A shift of 70 days . . . that’s a long shift.”
Chilean President Sebastian Piñera greeted Urzua by saying, “You have no idea how all Chileans shared with you your anguish, your hope and your joy.
“You were an inspiration.”
The two then led the crowd in singing the national anthem.
Piñera was there to greet each miner when they were freed and give them hero’s welcomes.
Some survivors punched the air or flashed a triumphant thumbs-up as they emerged from their red, white and blue escape pod, while patriotic crowds chanted, “Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!”
Every miner was embraced by wives, family members, fiancées or girlfriends.
While underground, mechanic Esteban Rojas, 44, proposed to his girlfriend of 25 years, Jessica Yanez, via video conference.
When he emerged from the capsule yesterday, he hugged Yanez and two of their children, and asked her, “Have you bought your dress yet?”
Drill operator Claudio Yanez, 34, also popped the question from below to girlfriend Cristina Nuñez — who has been feuding with his mother over who should have collected his salary while trapped.
Yanez’s helmet fell off as he hugged his fiancée.
Other miners were treated like the world’s biggest reality-show stars.
Edison Peña, who requested Elvis Presley songs be sent down to the mine, scored an invitation to Graceland.
The miners were also offered free vacations on Greek islands and tickets to watch top soccer teams play. They’ll get to keep the $450 Oakley sunglasses they were given to shield their eyes when they reached the surface.
Euphoria spread throughout Chile as the rescue effort, which began just after midnight in the Atacama desert, progressed. Car horns sounded in Santiago, the capital, and school was canceled in the town of Copiapo, where 24 miners live.
Miners and rescue officials expressed surprise at how smoothly everything went.
“They come out so strong, with so much faith — it really has been something magic,” President Piñera told British Prime Minister David Cameron in a phone call.
The drama drew a vast international TV audience, including President Obama.
“The tears they shed after so much time apart express not only their own relief, not only their own joy, but the joy of people everywhere,” Obama said. He noted that a NASA team helped design the escape capsule.
Even Iran’s state TV followed events live for a time. Crews from Russian, Japanese and North Korean state TV were also at the mine.
Chilean officials expressed surprise at how well the men had held up so well during their 69 days underground.
Mario Gomez, who at 63 is the oldest miner, was equipped with a special oxygen mask because he had been on antibiotics.
But Gomez appeared just fine as he dropped to his knees, bowed his head in prayer and clutched a Chilean flag. His wife, Liliane Ramirez, pulled him up and embraced him.
The couple, who’d been wed in a civil ceremony, had talked by video once a week while he was underground, and Gomez promised to marry her again in a church wedding — on his birthday, Nov. 7 — followed by the honeymoon they never had.
The lone foreigner among the group, Carlos Mamani of Bolivia, was visited at a nearby clinic by Piñera and Bolivian President Evo Morales. Mamani told Piñera how happy he was to breathe fresh air and see the stars once again.
Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich said some of the miners probably will be able to leave the hospital today — earlier than projected — but many had been unable to sleep and were experiencing anxiety.
He disclosed that one of the men was suffering from acute pneumonia.
All of them emerged from the mine spiffy looking and clean-shaven.
Crews had been lowering packages containing food and medicine. In the days before the rescue, they added razors and shaving cream.
Miners spoke of their plans for the future.
A relative of bulldozer operator Omar Reygadas, 56, said, “He wants to have a meal of veal with avocado — and watch a lot of television.”