Miracle In The Andes: The True Story of Surviving 72 Days on the Mountain • EUR 15,27 (2024)

FAQs

What happened to the survivors of the Miracle in the Andes? ›

Of the 16 survivors, 14 are still alive. José Luis “Coche” Inciarte died in 2023 of cancer, per the AFP, as did Javier Methol in 2015. Sergio Catalan, the herdsman who encountered Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa after their 10-day trek through the Andes from the crash site, died in 2020 at the age of 91.

Miracle in the Andes (2006) is a gripping account of survival and determination in the face of unimaginable odds. Here's why this book is worth reading: It details the incredible true story of a rugby team's plane crash in the Andes and their struggle to survive in a harsh and isolated environment.

In total, 29 of the 45 passengers and crew died over the 72 days the survivors lived on the mountain before being rescued. Society of the Snow went to great lengths to remember everyone who died in the Andes.

Ten weeks later, only sixteen of the forty-five passengers were found alive. This is the story of those ten weeks spent in the shelter of the plane's fuselage without food and with scarcely any hope of a rescue.

During the 72 days following the crash, the survivors suffered from extreme hardships, including sub-zero temperatures, exposure, starvation, and an avalanche, which led to the deaths of 13 more passengers. The remaining passengers resorted to eating the flesh of those who died in order to survive.

The survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash faced significant challenges to their mental and emotional well-being. Stranded in harsh conditions without immediate rescue, they had to confront extreme physical and psychological stress.

A group of survivors lived through the plane crash, only to face the frigid cold and snow of the mountains, avalanches and, most famously, a lack of food. As they fought for their lives for more than two months, they fed themselves by cannibalizing the bodies of those who had already died.

His mother and younger sister, Susana, were killed in the accident. Nando made a superhuman effort, survived for 72 days, and found his way out of the Andes, after an 10-day snowy trek through the mountains with his friend Roberto Canessa.

Rescue helicopters arrived at the crash site on Dec. 22 but were only able to airlift out six of the 14 remaining survivors due to bad weather. The other eight were picked up the following day. After making it out of the mountains, Canessa went on to practice medicine and became a renowned pediatric cardiologist.

“What remains of the plane is still in a place where, in general, there is snow. It is at least 10 metres below where it was during the 72 days that the survivors were sheltered,” says Moraga.

What happened to Javier Methol? ›

Later life and death

Methol passed away on June 4, 2015, at the British Hospital of Montevideo, at the age of 79.

In 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed into the Andes mountains, forcing the survivors to endure freezing temperatures, avalanches, starvation and, eventually, eat the dead among them.

Society of the Snow's real-world counterparts overcame an immense struggle. As well as battling against starvation, broken bones from the crash, and infected wounds, the stranded Uruguayan rugby team had to live through spells of cold that nosedived as low as -22º Fahrenheit. In Celsius, this figure comes to -30ºC.

For me one of the most positive and interesting stories in this tragedy is how a very close friendship developed between Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, who were not particularly good friends before the crash, had very different personalities but the adversities brought them closer and closer together.

The Uruguayan rugby team's 1972 plane crash inspired the new Netflix film. It tells a story of disaster, endurance, death—and cannibalism. On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into the Andes with 45 souls on board. After 72 days, only 16 survived.

Today, in 2024, only 14 of the 16 survivors are alive. Javier Methol passed away in 2015 due to cancer, surviving almost 43 years after the crash. He was 36 at the time of the accident, the oldest of the survivors. José Luis “Coche” Inciarte, died in 2023, also of cancer.

“What remains of the plane is still in a place where, in general, there is snow. It is at least 10 metres below where it was during the 72 days that the survivors were sheltered,” says Moraga.