URUGUAY: Survivors of 1972 plane crash commemorate anniversary of accident that forced them to eat human flesh to survive

Thirty-five years after their plane crashed in the Andes and forced them to eat human flesh to stay alive, survivors of an Uruguayan rugby team on Sunday (October 14) remembered the past with a commemorative match and paid homage to a Chilean rancher who helped save them. "You know this accident had a happy ending, but only in part because friends of ours also died, but this person Mr. Sergio Catalan, with his generosity helped us and helped our friends," said survivor, Felipe Jugo. On October 13, 1972 the plane carrying the Old Christinas rugby team crashed in the Andes where they fought off cold and hunger for 71 days in a plight made internationally famous by the 1993 Hollywood movie "Alive." Of the 45 passengers on the original flight from Uruguay to Santiago, Chile, 13 people were killed upon impact, others died soon after from their wounds and a massive avalanche. Only 16 of the passengers were rescued. The crash survivors got by for a few days on the little chocolate and wine they had brought along for the flight, but after the food ran out and they heard on the radio that the search was canceled, they were forced to dig up some of the dead bodies they had buried in the snow nearby and eat them. After two months, two of the men set out to cross the mountains in search of help. They were discovered 10 days later by Catalan and led rescue helicopters back to the site. On Sunday, that Catalan was there to meet with the men he helped save. "I also wish them much happiness to my Uruguayan sons because they have always told me that I am a father to them," said Catalan. The 80-year-old Catalan made the opening kick for the commemorative match. "It is an example of unselfishness and it is something that we can share with the young people. We have learned from him and the Uruguayan people are grateful to him," said survivor, Gustavo Zerbino. The survivors are now are businessmen, TV announcers and fathers. Many have traveled the world to tell their story while at least one has never boarded a plane since the accident.

ITN Source | October 15, 2007

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