“The Snow Society”: how long did the survivors stay in the Andes before being rescued?

What was supposed to be a trip from Uruguay to Santiago, Chile, to compete in the Friendship Cup turned into a tragedy in the Andes Mountains.

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 was carrying 45 people, including 19 members of the Christian Bross school rugby team, when it crashed into a mountain in the Andes on October 13, 1972.

This was one of the worst plane crashes, as well as one of the most famous survival stories in the world, which inspired books, documentaries and films, including the recently released “The Snow Society”, on Netflix.

The plane crashed on top of one of the mountains, breaking both wings and the fuselage in half. The rear part fell with the passengers, coming to rest in a snowy valley.

The accident caused the deaths of 29 people, of which 17 died on impact or in the following hours due to their injuries. In addition, eight died, buried under snow in the avalanche that destroyed the remains of the fuselage 16 days after the accident.

Four other victims died from injuries suffered in the accident or during weeks in the mountains, according to the Snow Society website.

The other 16 managed to survive the tragedy and the adverse conditions they faced in the mountains during 72 days in the middle of nowhere, with no food and in freezing temperatures.

Most of them understand that getting out alive had a lot to do with teamwork and resilience.

The 72 days in the mountain range were marked by different events, from the day of impact, the moment of the avalanche that ended the lives of some companions and when two of them, Roberto Canessa and Fernando Parrado, decided to go on an expedition to Chile to rescue them.

Canessa and Parrado climbed the Andes Mountains for 10 days to report that they were alive and point out the place where their other 14 companions were trapped.

Finally, the rescue occurred on December 22, a few days before Christmas 1972.