Exactly 50 years ago, on October 13, 1972, a Uruguayan Air Force plane bound for Chile crashed into a rock in the Andes at an altitude of 4,000 meters. The airliner, operating flight FAU 571, was flying to a friendly match members of the rugby team, their relatives and sponsors. Many survived, and one of the survivors is Uruguayan Roberto Canessa, at the time a medical student and rugby player.
The authorities could not find the plane and after 10 days they stopped searching. The survivors are stuck above the edge of the forest, without warm clothes and food. They ate the meat of their dead comrades. 62 days after the disaster, Canessa and another survivor decided to go in search of help. They made their way through the impenetrable mountains for 10 days before they came out to the people. As a result, 16 people were saved.
Six years ago, Canessa published a book, I Should Have Survived, in which he described his experience. 50 years after the disaster, DW spoke to a 69-year-old cardiologist about the weeks that defined his life.
German wave: How did the crash change your life?
Roberto CanessaA: I got a chance for a second life. I thought I was going to die, because in a plane that crashes into a mountain, they certainly die. I could not imagine that I would be able to be saved, and therefore the motto became the driving force in my life: “72 days. As long as there is life and hope, maybe tomorrow will come!”
– How did you survive in the Andes cut off from people after the plane crash?
We are prisoners of the mountains. We had a little radio that reminded us that the world does not stand still. The signal came from Chile. It was very hard to hear that people are enjoying the spring while we are fighting for life.
– Where did you get the radio from?
– It was one of the battery-operated receivers produced at that time. It belonged to one of the girls. We tried to dose its use as much as possible, knowing that at seven o’clock in the morning a good reception. So we heard that the world knows about the crash in the Andes. Later, we saw a plane flying over us and realized that they were looking for us. But he didn’t see us. We would never have been found by such methods. And we realized that only we can save ourselves.
– What helped you stay alive?
“The worst was the uncertainty. Death was so close and at the same time so far away. Just a couple of meters from me lay the bodies of many comrades, and I was alive. And the world lived on. We realized that we would survive if we could hold out as long as possible. We couldn’t give up.
– You had to face an avalanche too…
– Yes, eight more passengers died after 19 days. I thought it couldn’t get any worse. But on the same day we were buried alive under an avalanche.
– You’ve run out of food. You tried to eat leather belts and cologne, but realized that this was not enough, and decided to turn to the bodies of the dead. How does one manage to accept such a situation??
– Such a thought develops slowly – as a result of hunger. It is terrible to realize that our comrades have fat and meat. Reminiscent of a thought process in which civilized life loses its power, you have to follow the animal instinct, rationalize it and make it a part of yourself. I experienced great humiliation and realized that I was violating the principles of civilized life. At the same time, I acknowledged that I had done nothing that I would not allow myself to do in this situation. It would be my honor to serve others in this way.
– After 62 days, you decided to go in search of help and walked more than 70 kilometers in the snow. Was there an event that prompted you to accept this challenge?
“When another of us died, Fernando Parrado told me that in the next few days the others would probably also die, and he and I would be so weak that we would soon be unable to do anything. And we decided to go for help.
The path was difficult. Where, as we thought, there was a peak, there was another mountain, moreover, a higher one. But we knew that step by step we were getting closer to the goal. When we passed the mountain range, we saw a river, plants and even a lizard. And then I realized that this is salvation, that I will not die in the snow, like my friends. We walked on until we finally met the muleteer Sergio Catalan.
– What did you feel when you saw him?
– I said to myself: “We did it.” The world has learned that there are survivors in the mountains who were mistakenly thought to be dead. Most importantly, our comrades were finally able to come to the rescue.
– Since five decades have passed. What did you take away from that experience?
– You can’t just sit and wait for the helicopters to arrive, you need to go in search of them yourself. If necessary – on foot. And for those who have a hard time, I will say: I know what it’s like to climb to the top of a mountain and lose heart. But don’t give up. Realize what you have achieved in life, understand that you can achieve much more. People don’t have problems, they have difficulties. The problem is when a person hears that he has three months left to live. The problem is when you crash in a mountain range. Everything else is difficulties that give flavor to life.
– Do you keep in touch with other survivors?
Yes, we have become close friends. And our community is not only the survivors, but also the families of those who did not return.
– Do you regret anything?
– (laughs) Of course! I shouldn’t have taken that plane.
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