PLANE CRASH IN THE ANDES Background to the story Av half past three on Friday, 13th October 1972, a plane carrying forty-five passengers and crew missed its way over the Andes, hit am ait pocket and eeched. The plane, 2 Faitchid, had been chartered by 2 team of Uruguyan fagby players to take them, with some relatives and friends, to 2 mate in cee Seite ofthe passengers and one pilot were killed on impacts others died coun afterwards. There were thirty-two survivors, many of them seriously injured. ‘For eight days the authorities searched for the plane. But the Andes were covered ia deep snow and the roof of the plane was white, Moreover, they thought it unlikely that anyone would have survived the crash, Darkness comes at si o'clock in the Andes, and the temperature fills far ‘below freezing at that time of year. Rescue planes would obviously not come ree vay so the thisty-two survivors would have to make preparations for the night. air ihe plane crashed the reer luggage compartment had broken off leaving a gaping hole at the back, ‘The entrance to the pilot's cabin was blocked by 9 a ert tangled seats, and the only floor space left clear was by the open rai) Fre the wounded were laid out, but there was no protection from the bitter ver tnd driving snow. Many of the survivors wore only light clothing, and Thott guitcases had fallen out of the back. The uninjured slept where they cnety among the mangled seats, drinking bottles of wine and massaging each conor to tryand bring warmth to their numb limbs. It was an unending night, tauken by she screams of the wounded and the delirious raving of those who were in a state of shock. ‘By the time the sun rose next morning three more had died inthe night and anther anon after, The survivors were dismayed to discover the seriousness of ar sosition, Prom a chart found inthe pilot's cabin they estimated thet they er on the western side of the Andes. The plane lay on a slant with its nose pointing down a valley, and all around were mountains, Chilean villages could ren be far away, but To get to them they would have {0 cross a gigantic int atain range. So far they had not found it possible to walk from the plane without sinking down into the deep snow. srrere were ao emergency supplies or signal flares in the Fairchild, and the 7SSSA SSS batteries for the radio had been lost in the tail. The only food they had was a few bars of chocolate and nougat, a few dates and dried plums, three small jars cofjamand a packet of biscuits. There were also some bottles of wine and spirits. Marcelo Peréz, the captain of the rugby team and one of the uninjured, took ‘one look at their impossible situation and took over control, trying desperately to create some sort of order out of the hysteria. To start with he rationed the food. Then one of the boys invented an ingenious snow-melting device using aluminium foil from the seats. The less strong of the survivors were given the task of making water for them all. Two areas outside the plane were chosen as lavatories, so that the rest of the snew could be kept clean for water. On the third day planes were sighted directly overhead. One dipped its wings as if signalling that it had seen them, and at first there was joy and hope that they would soon be rescued. But as day succeeded day and nothing happened the optimism died away and a terrible depression took hold. Starvation was making them all weak and listless: there was hardly any food left, and no hope of finding more. Then it occurred to several of the boys that if they were to survive at all they ‘would have to eat the bodies of those who had died in the crash. It was a terrible prospect, and some could not bring themselves to even think about it. Others reasoned that if they didn’t they would all die; that it was their moral obligation to try to lives that if they were dead they would expect their friends to eat them in order to stay alive, At length four of them plucked up courage and went out into the snow where the dead bodies were preserved. A small piece of flesh was cut and left to dry in the sun. First one, and then a few more overcame their revulsion and managed to swallow it down. ‘A black day followed, On a small transistor radio they picked up the news: all the aircraft searching for the wreckage had been called off. It was assumed there were no survivors. Only one boy prevented their total despair. “I's good news,” he maintained, “because it means that we're going to get out of here on our own.” . It was agreed that before they got any weaker they must try and find a means of escape, and three of the fittest boys set off up the mountain to look for the tailpiece and see what was on the other side. As they climbed it became clear why they had not been seen from the air: the Fairchild was almost buried in the snow and was practically invisible, On a plateau higher up they found some fragments of twisted metal and six dead bodies, but not the tailpiece. 9After a sleepless night on the mountain in sub-zero temperatures the three returned — exhausted, half-blind and frozen - without having got near the summit. What hope could there possibly be of escape? On the night of October 29th, the seventeenth day on the mountains, an avalanche knocked down the makeshift barrier at the back of the plane and covered all the sleeping bodies with a thick layer of snow. Only one boy was awake at thetime, and he struggled desperately to free his buried companions, But cight died under the snow. A second avalanche buried the plane completely, sealing the remaining nineteen survivors into a icy tomb for the next three days, As soon as the blizzards abated escape was again uppermost in everyone's mind, The boys decided to prepare an expedition which would leave in the middle of November, when the summer started and the weather should be better. Oa November 17th three of the fitter boys, Parrado, Canessa and