Surviving the Andes Plane Crash. Carlos "Carlitos" Paez Rodriguez's harrowing story of flight 571
Carlos 'Carlitos' Paez Rodriguez embarked on a journey from Uruguay to Chile on October 13, 1972. Carlos, a rugby player, was about to take part in a match in Santiago with his team. The flight number 571 crashed in the Andes, near the Tinguiririca volcano, due to adverse weather conditions and a pilot's mistake. The plane carried 45 people in total, including five crew members.
8:22 AM EST, January 16, 2024
Seventy-two days of survival
Twelve people perished instantly following the crash. Another five were initially considered missing after being ejected from the plane. Their bodies were discovered on October 24. The first night after the accident claimed five more lives. On October 28, an avalanche from the mountains engulfed the wreckage where 27 people were sleeping, causing eight more deaths.
Many podcasts, series, movies, and books have been created about the Andes crash. One of them is the Netflix film "Snow Brotherhood," which narrates the tale of flight 571's survivors. All productions emphasize one horrifying detail: cannibalism. The survivors were left without any food. Carlos 'Carlitos' Paez Rodriguez, one of the 17 survivors, discusses the issue in detail.
"If you don't eat, you die"
Carlos 'Carlitos' Paez Rodriguez, during an interview titled "29 Minutes with..." for LADBible, discussed the crash. Rodriguez mentioned that when they realized there was no food, everyone had the same thought, but no one spoke the controversial issue out loud. The topic was regarding cannibalism and eating the deceased passengers. The first person to propose such a decision was Nando Parrado, a rugby player who lost his mother and sister in the crash.
Parrado reportedly said he would "eat the pilot." His reasoning was that they didn't know the crew members, whereas the rest of the victims were their teammates and family. In the end, cannibalism became the group's last resort.
"Each of us made the decision in our own time and ate when we could. It was a process. Initially, I thought I couldn't touch my friends' bodies. Then it became natural, almost a daily routine, because food was vital for our survival. I chose life, and I'm proud of what I did," expresses Carlos 'Carlitos' Paez Rodriguez years after the ordeal.
