On October 12, 1972, a Uruguayan aircraft took off from Montevideo to Santiago, Chile. It carried a rugby team and some of their relatives.
The crew of the aircraft was five members and the occupants 35.
During the flight the weather worsened and so the pilot landed in Argentina. The next day, despite the bad weather, the pilot succumbed to the pressures of travelers and agreed to take off for the final destination.
The turmoil was intense and the aircraft lost altitude over Chile. It hit a mountain top and crashed to the ground. Twelve people died instantly and another five died the same night from injuries.
The rest were at an altitude of 3,600 meters, with little oxygen and no food. To survive, they began eating the corpses of the dead passengers.
Rescue crews lost track and stopped the search.
On October 21, one died and eight days later another eight died from an avalanche. By December 11, three more had died.
On December 12, two people decided to start a journey for the unknown. Ten days later they met a climber who treated them and informed the authorities to continue the search.
By December 23, another 14 had been rescued. They lived 72 days in polar cold conditions.
There are many books, movies, documentaries and musicals about this event today.
[Source: http://www.sansimera.gr]
