The real survivors piled on all the clothing they could salvage from the wreckage. As the movie depicts, the real survivors also fashioned a makeshift shelter out of the plane's fuselage, piling up suitcases and other objects to somewhat enclose the space and block out the wind.
But other than minimal snacks left over from the plane, the survivors did not have access to other food. "Their bodies are literally self-cannibalizing to keep them alive, so they're losing their muscle," she explained. With nothing else to eat, the survivors resorted to eating the bodies of the deceased.
Rescue helicopters arrived at the crash site on Dec. 22 but were only able to airlift out six of the 14 remaining survivors due to bad weather. The other eight were picked up the following day. After making it out of the mountains, Canessa went on to practice medicine and became a renowned pediatric cardiologist.
"This is more than a movie," Roberto Canessa, who survived the crash at age 19 and consulted on the movie, told Time. "This is an experience we had to share with humanity to show people who are having their own mountain crashes how to be resourceful and how not to give up."
The survival thriller directed by J. A. Bayona tells the story of the 1972 Andes flight disaster and how 16 people were able to survive 72 days in the Andes, in temperatures of -22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why didn't they start a fire in Society of the Snow?
The place where the plane crashed was not strategically visible, so it would have been pointless to try to make a fire. Furthermore, they didn't have enough flammable objects to cause such a big fire, which is why the lighter was used for cigarettes but never a signal fire.
A survival expert reacts to 'Society of the Snow' and the true story of how 16 people survived the Andes plane crash. "Society of the Snow" is based on the remarkable true story of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes. For 72 days, 16 people managed to survive, dealing with extreme cold, starvation, and dehydration.
Society of the Snow, inspired by the true story of the 1972 Andes plane crash, captures incredible realism through the use of actual photos and footage, unknown actors, and shooting on location.
How many are still alive from Society of the Snow?
Of the sixteen original survivors depicted in Society of the Snow, fourteen are still alive today and were directly involved in the development of the film. Many of the survivors seen in Society of the Snow went on to become authors and motivational speakers.
Sadly, Methol was the first of the plane crash survivors to pass away as he died of cancer in 2015. After losing his wife Liliana during the events following the plane crash, he remarried Ana María with whom he had four more children. He worked in the tobacco industry until his death at the age of 79.
After Navarro's death, four years later, he remarried Ana María Amorrortu from Argentina, with whom he had four more children: Guillermo Javier, Rafael Javier, Ignacio Javier and Ximena María. He was a cousin of Francisco Abal, who died during the accident. He was a Catholic.
Catalán became the 16 survivors' hero. They stayed in touch, visited him, and helped him pay for the surgeries and medical treatments he underwent until he died in 2020 at the age of 91. Gustavo Zerbino, one of the 16, attended his funeral on behalf of the survivors.
When the survivors were debating about eating the dead bodies, Roberto mentioned that they had not had any food or water for seven days and seven nights. This prompted several other survivors to comment that their pee had turned black. Their pee had actually turned dark brown, which is a sign of severe dehydration.
Were the survivors of the Andes plane crash cannibalism?
During the 72 days following the crash, the survivors suffered from extreme hardships, including sub-zero temperatures, exposure, starvation, and an avalanche, which led to the deaths of 13 more passengers. The remaining passengers resorted to cannibalism to survive.
Nando made a superhuman effort, survived for 72 days, and found his way out of the Andes, after an 10-day snowy trek through the mountains with his friend Roberto Canessa.
Why did it take so long to rescue Society of the Snow?
Throughout the course of the actual rescue, the deployed team contended with the harsh elements of the Andes mountains and struggled to recover everyone. According to Time, the helicopters dispatched to the crash site could only airlift six of the remaining 14 survivors out to safety due to bad weather.
Where are the 1972 Andes plane crash survivors now? Of the 16 survivors, 14 are still alive. José Luis “Coche” Inciarte died in 2023 of cancer, per the AFP, as did Javier Methol in 2015.
Fernando "Nando" Seler Parrado Dolgay (born 9 December 1949) is a Uruguayan businessman, producer, motivational speaker and television presenter, and former rugby player and racing driver. He is one of the sixteen survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 which crashed in the Andes on 13 October 1972.
Death. Turcatti had been surviving in the mountains for 61 days. Due to a septic condition, he died in his sleep weighing just 25kg (55lbs). He was the last fatal victim of the tragedy of flight 571 in the Andes.
What is the true story behind the Society of the Snow?
In 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed into the Andes mountains, forcing the survivors to endure freezing temperatures, avalanches, starvation and, eventually, eat the dead among them.
Of the 16 survivors, 14 are still alive. José Luis “Coche” Inciarte died in 2023 of cancer, per the AFP, as did Javier Methol in 2015. Sergio Catalan, the herdsman who encountered Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa after their 10-day trek through the Andes from the crash site, died in 2020 at the age of 91.
What happened to the plane in Society of the Snow?
The aircraft hit a mountain, breaking both wings off and causing the fuselage to slide down a mountain. The rear of the plane also broke off in midair, taking five people with it. After a long slide, the plane's front end wound up stopping at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet.
How much weight did the actors lose for Society of the Snow?
in an interview with EFE. The challenge, he added, “was not only to lose more than 20 kilos in a couple of months or to achieve apparently deteriorated body morphologies for the actors after the rescue, but to do it without interfering with the proper functioning of their brains, to memorize and dramatize their roles.”
Filming took place in February 2022 for only 17 days and with a limited budget, just under $650,000 (for comparison, Society of the Snow cost around $64 million, according to estimates).
