The 33 men who survived underground longer than anyone in the history of mining have begun to leave a Chilean hospital, beginning their journey back to normal life.

Doctors at the hospital said three members of the group would likely be released Thursday evening, with the remaining miners following suit in coming days. All are expected to be released by Sunday.

After their rescue was broadcast live around the world this week, they will likely return home with offers to cash in on the ordeal that made them an international curiosity for more than two months.

For now, many remain in hospital where doctors are checking the status of their health after spending ten weeks in a hot, humid, cavernous environment with no exposure to sunlight.

Still dressed in bathrobes and wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from light after nearly 70 days buried underground, the miners posed for a group photo in hospital with Chile's President Sebastian Pinera.

"They may just want to thank people," CTV's Lisa LaFlamme reported from Chile, as they understand that the world has been watching.

She added that the men also understand that their experience could result in lucrative book and movie deals.

"These guys are very savvy," LaFlamme said.

The miners are generally doing well, though one man is being treated for pneumonia and two others are said to need dental work.

"It is remarkable, they are all clamouring to get out of hospital," LaFlamme reported from the hospital.

Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich said some of the miners may even be released on Thursday.

Cecilia Morel, the wife of Chilean president Sebastian Pinera, told reporters that the men were being observed in the hospital for precautionary reasons.

Morel said it was better for them to be given the all-clear in a hospital "than at home where they could be given meat and fried pork rinds."

But even when they are given the green light to return home, their lives will likely never be the same.

Up to this point, the men have been making about $1,600 a month in salary, according to figures reported by The Associated Press. But with movie and book deals that LaFlamme said are "coming in fast and furious," that is likely to change.

How much money they can make from selling their story is unclear.

Some of the men could even choose to return to mining, though Chilean President Sebastian Pinera claims the one they worked at "will definitely never open again."

As the world celebrates with Chile, humour is also beginning to emerge after weeks of concern.

Catalyst for change?

The president said that the people who are responsible for the conditions at the San Jose Mine that led to the accident "will not go unpunished."

The owners of the mine are now being sued by the families of 27 miners who were rescued Wednesday.

The company is also being sued by 40-year-old Gino Cortez, a 40-year-old miner who lost his leg at the San Jose mine a month before its collapse on Aug. 5.

Pinera said it cost "somewhere between $10 and $20 million" to get the miners out, with the government and its state-owned mining company Codelco paying about two-thirds of that total. The rest of the rescue was paid for by private donations.

John Urosek of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said the rescue effort by the Chilean government was impressive.

But he said the next step is for Chile to determine and analyze the reasons behind the collapse, so that they can be prevented in the future.

The ordeal has clearly raised the issue of worker safety, with Pinera promising to introduce proposals to better protect the people working in the trade that has killed an average of 34 people in Chile each year over the past decade.

But not everyone is convinced that things will change.

"The mine has been proven dangerous, but what's worse are the mine owners who don't offer any protection to men who work in mining," said Patricio Aguilar, a 60-year-old man who lives in Copiapo, near the mine.

Local geologist Mario Medina Mejia said that it is quite possible that the once-trapped men may return to mining, like many of their predecessors who have survived their own brushes with death.

"If they need the work they will return to the mine," he said. "It's their life, their culture, the way they make their living."

Pinera also thanked the world for its support during the ordeal, and specifically mentioned Canada.

LaFlamme said that the Calgary-based company Precision Drilling, along with 25 Canadian workers, took part in the rescue effort.

With files from The Associated Press