Eduardo Strauch survived the 1972 Andes plane crash of the Uruguayan rugby team. From there, travelers ride on horseback, though some choose to walk. By complete luck, the plane's wingless descent down into the snowbowl had found the only narrow chute without giant rocks and boulders. After the initial shock of their plane crashing into the Andes mountains on that fateful Friday the 13th of October 1972, Harley and 31 other survivors found themselves in the pitch dark in. [3], Of the 45 people on the aircraft, three passengers and two crew members in the tail section were killed when it broke apart: Lt. Ramn Sal Martnez, Orvido Ramrez (plane steward), Gaston Costemalle, Alejo Houni, and Guido Magri. We knew the answer, but it was too terrible to contemplate. After the initial shock of their plane crashing into the Andes mountains on that fateful Friday the 13th of October 1972, Harley and 31 other survivors found themselves in the pitch dark in minus . [12][37] The survivors received public backlash initially, but after they explained the pact the survivors had made to sacrifice their flesh if they died to help the others survive, the outcry diminished and the families were more understanding. 'Alive': Uruguay plane crash survivors savour life 50 years on On October 13, 1972, a plane carrying an amateur Uruguayan rugby team, along with relatives and supporters, to an away match in Chile crashed in the Andes with 45 people on board. "[29] They followed the ridge towards the valley and descended a considerable distance. The rations did not last long, and in order to stay alive it became necessary for the survivors to eat the bodies of the dead. Search efforts were cancelled after eight days. Piers Paul Read's book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors described the moments after this discovery: The others who had clustered around Roy, upon hearing the news, began to sob and pray, all except [Nando] Parrado, who looked calmly up at the mountains which rose to the west. After numerous days spent searching for survivors, the rescue team was forced to end the search. The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disaster (Tragedia de los Andes) and the Miracle of the Andes (Milagro de los Andes). "[11], Roberto Canessa later said that he thought the pilot turned north too soon, and began the descent to Santiago while the aircraft was still high in the Andes. [17][26], During the trip he saw another arriero on the south side of Ro Azufre, and asked him to reach the men and to bring them to Los Maitenes. A storm blew fiercely, and they finally found a spot on a ledge of rock on the edge of an abyss. Instead, I lasted 72 days. And important. The plane crashed into the Andes mountains on Friday 13 October 1972. Estamos dbiles. Sun 14 Oct 2012 09.29 EDT The surviving members of a Uruguayan rugby team have played a match postponed four decades ago when their plane crashed in the Andes, stranding them for 72 days. Man Utd revive interest in Barcelona star De Jong, Alonso pips Verstappen with Hamilton fourth ahead of thrilling pole fight, Experience live F1 races onboard with any driver in 2023, Papers: Chelsea divided on future of head coach Potter, PL Predictions: Maddison to spark Leicester into life, How Casemiro silenced doubters to become Man Utd cult hero, What is Chelsea's best XI? But physically, it was very difficult to get it in the first day. A federal judge and the local mayor intervened to obtain his release, and Echavarren later obtained legal permission to bury his son.[2]. At sunset, while sipping cognac that they had found in the tail section, Parrado said, "Roberto, can you imagine how beautiful this would be if we were not dead men? GARCIA-NAVARRO: And so two members of the team, dressed in only street clothes, miraculously were able to make it over the mountains and find help. [26], Parrado wore three pairs of jeans and three sweaters over a polo shirt. The survivors trapped inside soon realized they were running out of air. [26] Alfredo Delgado spoke for the survivors. Nando Parrado says they survivors 'donated their bodies' and made a pact. Hace 10 das que estamos caminando. The death of Perez, the team captain and leader of the survivors, along with the loss of Liliana Methol, who had nursed the survivors "like a mother and a saint", were extremely discouraging to those remaining alive.[16][22]. "It's something that very few people experience." [2] Twelve men and a Chilean priest were transported to the crash site on 18 January 1973. Thinking of the suffering that must have caused our families at home made us even more determined to survive, said Sabella. [45][46], The crash location attracts hundreds of people from all over the world who pay tribute to the victims and survivors and learn about how they survived. But the hard part was not over for Eduardo Strauch. It is south of the 4,650 metres (15,260ft) high Mount Seler, the mountain they later climbed and which Nando Parrado named after his father. Given the cloud cover, the pilots were flying under instrument meteorological conditions at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,500m) (FL180), and could not visually confirm their location. We had long since run out of the meagre pickings we'd found on the plane, and there was no vegetation or animal life to be found. In October 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes. STRAUCH: Yeah. We are surrounded with our friends, who died. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. It was Friday, October 13, 1972, and the Uruguayan Air Force Fairchild F-227 had crashed into a glacial valley high in the Andes. His mother had taught him to sew when he was a boy, and with the needles and thread from the sewing kit found in his mother's cosmetic case, he began to work to speed the progress, Carlitos taught others to sew, and we all took our turns Coche [Inciarte], Gustavo [Zerbino], and Fito [Strauch] turned out to be our best and fastest tailors. Meanwhile, Parrado and Canessa were brought on horseback to Los Maitenes de Curic, where they were fed and allowed to rest. We ripped open seat cushions hoping to find straw, but found only inedible upholstery foam Again and again, I came to the same conclusion: unless we wanted to eat the clothes we were wearing, there was nothing here but aluminum, plastic, ice, and rock. Fito Strauch devised a way to obtain water in freezing conditions by using sheet metal from under the seats and placing snow on it. The remaining portion of the fuselage slid down a glacier at an estimated 350km/h (220mph) and descended about 725 metres (2,379ft) before crashing into ice and snow. All hope seemed lost when they located the broken off tail of the plane, found batteries to get the radio to work, only to hear via a crackly message over the airwaves on their 10th day on the mountain that the search had been called off. The other passengers were family and friends of the team, as well as the ve crew . Where are we? They removed the seat covers, which were partially made of wool, to use against the cold. The aircraft was 80km (50mi) east of its planned route. You probably know the story of the group of Uruguayan rugby players, family members, and fans whose chartered plane crashed into an unnamed 15,000-foot peak on October 13, 1972. He has made them human. His mother died instantly, followed by his sister, cradled in his arms a week later. They've called off the search.' It was one of the greatest survival stories in human history, perhaps THE greatest. "That was probably the moment when the pilots saw the black ridge rising dead ahead. When the fuselage collided with a snow bank, the seats were torn from their base and thrown against the forward bulkhead and each other. [5][14], The plane fuselage came to rest on a glacier at 344554S 701711W / 34.76500S 70.28639W / -34.76500; -70.28639 at an elevation of 3,570 metres (11,710ft) in the Malarge Department, Mendoza Province. The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disaster ( Tragedia de los Andes) and the Miracle of the Andes ( Milagro de los Andes ). [15], They continued east the next morning. When the supply of flesh was diminished, they also ate hearts, lungs and even brains. We wondered whether we were going mad even to contemplate such a thing. A paperback which referenced the film Alive: The Miracle of the Andes, was released in 1993. But it was impossible to get the proteins from there, so we start a mental process to convince our minds that was the only way. We are weak. STRAUCH: Even now, 47 years later, people - when they connect with our story, they get so many positive things for their lives. Those left knew that they would die if they did not find help. There were 10 extra seats and the team members invited a few friends and family members to accompany them. To live at 4,000m without any food," said another survivor, Eduardo Strauch, 65. This edition also has a new subtitle: Sixteen Men, Seventy-two Days, and Insurmountable Odds: The Classic Adventure of Survival in the Andes. Story [ edit] Main article: Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 The crash and rescue We tried to eat strips of leather torn from pieces of luggage, though we knew that the chemicals they'd been treated with would do us more harm than good. [26], On the third morning of the trek, Canessa stayed at their camp. To try to keep out some of the cold, they used luggage, seats, and snow to close off the open end of the fuselage. There was no natural vegetation and there were no animals on either the glacier or nearby snow-covered mountain. Parrado later said, "It was soft and greasy, streaked with blood and bits of wet gristle. This decision was not taken lightly, as most of the dead were classmates, close friends, or relatives. Vizintn and Parrado reached the base of a near-vertical wall more than one hundred meters (300 feet) tall encased in snow and ice. On the summit, Parrado told Canessa, "We may be walking to our deaths, but I would rather walk to meet my death than wait for it to come to me." The group, all of whom are still alive, get together on the Oct. 13 anniversary of the crash for a mass to remember the 29 friends and crew members who perished in the crash at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet, according to the outlet. Parrado disagreed and they argued without reaching a decision. The flight time from the pass to Curic is normally 11 minutes, but only three minutes later the pilot told Santiago that they were passing Curic and turning north. Then we realized that by folding the quilt in half and stitching the seams together, we could create an insulated sleeping bag large enough for all three expeditionaries to sleep in. The plane was so far off course that the searchers were looking in the wrong place. In the plane there are still 14 injured people. He used a stick from his pack to carve steps in the wall. On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 left the city of Mendoza, Argentina carrying the Old Christians Rugby Club of Montevideo, Uruguay to a scheduled game in Santiago, Chile. The author comments on this process in the "Acknowledgments" section: I was given a free hand in writing this book by both the publisher and the sixteen survivors. But at the same time, he found that he had grown spiritually during his ordeal in the mountains. On average,. Rumors circulated in Montevideo immediately after the rescue that the survivors had killed some of the others for food. As you can imagine, it has been the most awful, terrible days of my life. The next day, the man returned. He walked slowly with the aid of a cane and pointed at the sky when helicopters hovered over the field just as they did 40 years ago. He decided his story was so important that he had to share it beyond just his family and friends. Upon returning to the tail, the trio found that the 24-kilogram (53lb) batteries were too heavy to take back to the fuselage, which lay uphill from the tail section. - those first few days. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. And they continue living. A few seconds later, Daniel Shaw and Carlos Valeta fell out of the rear fuselage. On this flight he was training co-pilot Lagurara, who was at the controls. Then, "he began to climb, until the plane was nearly vertical and it began to stall and shake. Eventually spotted by a peasant farmer in the Chilean foothills they reached help and returned via helicopter to rescue the rest of those waiting to die in the mountains. If I die please use my body so at least one of us can get out of here and tell our families how much we love them.". All 16 survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash have reunited for the 50th anniversary, according to a report. The flight was carrying 45 passengers and crew, including 19 members of the Old Christians Club rugby union team, along with their families, supporters, and friends. Editorial ALreves, S.L., Bercelona, Spain, Read, Piers Paul. The ordeal "taught me that we set our own limits", he said. Given that the FH-227 aircraft was fully loaded, this route would have required the pilot to very carefully calculate fuel consumption and to avoid the mountains. "If I had been told: 'I'm going to leave you in a mountain 4,000m high, 20C below zero (-4F) in shirtsleeves,' I would have said: I last 10 minutes.' Some feared eternal damnation. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, 16 survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, Massive wildfires torch Chile, leaving 23 dead, hundreds injured, NYC lawyer, 38, who devoted his life to public service shot dead while vacationing in Chile, Scientists unearth megaraptors, feathered dinosaur fossils in Chile, Chile fires hit port and coastal city, two dead. They planned to discuss the details of how they survived, including their cannibalism, in private with their families. Can you talk a little bit about that? His presentation of the story at London's Barbican last week was deeply affecting: a 90-minute monologue about staring death in the face, surviving against all odds and spending the next four decades re-evaluating the true meaning of life and love. Because of the co-pilot's dying statement that the aircraft had passed Curic, the group believed the Chilean countryside was just a few kilometres away to the west. Cataln talked with the other two men, and one of them remembered that several weeks before Carlos Pez's father had asked them if they had heard about the Andes plane crash. [21]:9495, Parrado protected the corpses of his sister and mother, and they were never eaten. When he had boarded the ill-fated Uruguay Air Force plane for Chile, Harley weighed 84 kilograms. The arrieros could not imagine that anyone could still be alive. In the documentary film Stranded, Canessa described how on the first night during the ascent, they had difficulty finding a place to put down the sleeping bag. But we got used to it. Plane crash victim recounts the desperation that led him to eat friends for survival . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The survivors who had found the rear of the fuselage came up with an idea to use insulation from the rear of the fuselage, copper wire, and waterproof fabric that covered the air conditioning of the plane to fashion a sleeping bag.[18][17].