A person cannot survive for long if they don't have food or water. Their body will slowly weaken until movement will be close to impossible. Now imagine that scenario in subzero temperatures while being stuck up in the mountains with no civilization in sight.
That is the kind of nightmare that most of the rugby team members had to endure when their plane crashed in the Andes. They had to live through scarce sustenance and extremely cold temperatures for 72 days.
This tragedy happened in 1972 on this day, as they were flying from Uruguay to Chile, marking the fifth decade from when misfortune had befallen the group. Here are facts that you might not know about the incident.
The Aircraft that Plummeted in the Andes
The rugby team had chartered a plane for their trip from Uruguay to Chile. It was an Uruguayan Air Force Fairchild F-227, according to history.com. The right wing and the tail of the plane had been torn off upon impact into a glacial valley in the mountainside.
Despite the aircraft having sent them to their demise, it was also what gave them a chance to survive. They used the plane's seats to create shelter within the fuselage, and used the aluminum from the seat backs to warm up snow and use it as drinking water.
The Dwindling of Numbers
When the plane left the ground, there were 45 people on board. Most of them were still young-around their twenties and late teens. When the plane started to fail and fall apart, seven of them had been sucked out of the aircraft.
The moment that the plane had crashed, four died on impact. It wasn't long before five more followed after succumbing to their wounds sustained from the crash. 29 of them had survived, but after 72 days of unimaginable circumstances including the avalanche on the 18th day that killed eight more, only 16 of them were left.
Optimism Amidst Tragedy
They all hoped that they would be rescued and that their loved ones will never stop looking for them. But those hopes disappeared when they found a transistor radio, and heard the news from a Chilean news bulletin saying that the search had already been called off.
One of the survivors announced the news to the rest, saying that it was a good thing. Another one of the survivors asked why it was good news. The former responded and said that it was good, because they can finally stop waiting around and do something so they could go home.
The Search for Civilization
The group decided that only two of the remaining people should journey and look for a place where they could ask for help and call for a rescue. They headed west, which was the direction to Chile. Despite the freezing cold and nauseating altitude, they managed to reach the peak, which was 15,000 feet above them.
They climbed down the other side of the mountain with no hope left, until they heard flowing water, which turned out to be a river. They had finally seen signs of humanity, and to their relief, saw a man on horseback. The hike they had gone through seemed so impossible that the rescuers even doubted that it was true.
The Years After
The survivors try to get together every 22nd of December, which was the day they were rescued. According to National Geographic, there is an annual rugby match in Chile as a way to honor the match that did not happen due to the accident.
