On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into a remote glacier in the Andes Mountains. Carrying 45 people—mostly members of an amateur rugby team, along with their friends and family—the flight was bound for Santiago, Chile. What followed was an astonishing 72-day ordeal of freezing temperatures, an abandoned official search, and an ultimate, grueling trek across the mountains that saved 16 survivors.
Understanding this historic event requires looking past Hollywood portrayals to examine the logistics, the harsh environmental barriers, and the sheer psychological endurance that kept these men alive against impossible odds.
The Crash and Immediate Aftermath
The disaster began with a navigational error made while the aircraft was navigating a thick cloud cover over the Andes. The co-pilot, who was handling training duties, turned north too early. The twin-turboprop Fairchild FH-227 slammed tail-first into an unnamed mountain ridge, shearing off both wings and the tail section.
The fuselage slid down a steep glacier at an elevation of roughly 12,000 feet. Seventeen people died upon impact or during the first night. The survivors faced sub-zero alpine temperatures with minimal clothing, broken bones, and almost no food.
The Canceled Search
Within hours, authorities launched air rescue operations from Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. However, the white fuselage of the plane blended seamlessly into the snowpack, making it invisible from the air.
The survivors attempted to spell out "SOS" using lipstick on the plane's roof, but they ran out of makeup before finishing the letters. On October 21—just eight days after the crash—search efforts were officially called off because rescue teams assumed no one could survive the freezing high-altitude conditions. Hearing this news via a small transistor radio was a devastating psychological blow for the group.
The Grim Choice for Survival
With their tiny ration of snacks—a few chocolate bars, crackers, and bottles of wine—exhausted within the first week, the group faced a horrifying biological reality. Surrounded by barren ice and rock at 12,000 feet, nothing edible grew or existed in the vicinity.
To stay alive, the group made a collective, agonizing decision to consume the flesh of their deceased friends. As devout Catholics, many struggled intensely with the moral and religious implications of the act. Ultimately, they framed it as a necessary medical choice to preserve life, drawing a parallel to a sacrifice that would allow them to walk out of the mountains. This pragmatic choice is the primary reason any of them lived to tell the tale.
The Final Trek Across the Mountains
As weeks turned into months, an avalanche struck the fuselage, killing eight more people and trapping the remaining members for days. Recognizing that waiting inside the wreckage meant a slow death, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa resolved to climb out of the mountains.
They spent months preparing, constructing a makeshift sleeping bag out of insulation material and wire found in the tail section. In mid-December, they began an exhausting 10-day trek westward across the jagged peaks, expecting to find the green valleys of Chile just over the ridge. Instead, they found themselves surrounded by an endless sea of massive mountains.
Encountering Rescue
After scaling a 15,000-foot peak without mountaineering gear, Parrado and Canessa finally spotted vegetation and a rushing river. On the tenth day of their march, they encountered a Chilean muleteer named Sergio Catalán across the roaring torrent of the Rio Azopardo.
Unable to hear each other over the water, Catalán tossed a rock with paper and a pen across the river. Parrado wrote a frantic note explaining that they were the survivors of the crashed Uruguayan plane and needed immediate help. Catalán rode for hours to alert authorities, leading to helicopters reaching the remaining survivors on December 22 and 23, 1972.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people survived the Andes plane crash?
Out of 45 passengers and crew members on board, exactly 16 people survived the 72-day ordeal.
Where is the crash site located today?
The wreckage is located in a remote part of the Andes mountains in Argentina, near the border with Chile, at an altitude of approximately 3,600 meters. The site features a memorial cross and a pile of rocks honoring those who perished, which can be visited via guided alpine expeditions. Detailed historical accounts are preserved by institutions like the Uruguayan Air Force.
Did the survivors face legal trouble for cannibalism?
No. Upon their rescue and return to civilization, church officials and government authorities understood the extreme circumstances of their survival. Public opinion shifted from sensationalism to profound empathy once the full scope of their isolation and desperation became clear.
How has the story been documented?
The event inspired Piers Paul Read’s definitive 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, the 1993 Hollywood film Alive, and the critically acclaimed 2023 Spanish-language film Society of the Snow, which utilized testimony directly from the survivors and their families. Additional historical context can be explored through educational resources provided by Britannica.
