Netflix's new film Society of the Snow tells a harrowing true story. The movie is inspired by Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, a plane that crashed in 1972, leaving the surviving members of a rugby team stranded for 72 days in the Andes Mountains.
"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. Survival expert Cat Bigney explains how complicated surviving in those conditions would really be.
On 13 October 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into a glacier in the Andes on its way from Montevideo, Uruguay to Santiago, Chile. Many of the 45 people on board were Uruguayan rugby players.
What happened to the rugby team that crashed in the Andes?
Uruguayan Air Force flight 571, flight of an airplane charted by a Uruguayan amateur rugby team that crashed in the Andes Mountains in Argentina on October 13, 1972, the wreckage of which was not located for more than two months. Of the 45 people aboard the plane, only 16 survived the ordeal.
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Are any of the Society of the Snow still alive?
Since they were very young when the accident happened, almost all sixteen of them are still alive — Javier Methol and José Luis "Coche" Inciarte died in 2015 and 2023, respectively.
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.
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.
The bodies of 18 of their friends, relatives and members of the flight's crew were frozen in the snow and the passengers' only chance of survival lay in the unthinkable: resorting to cannibalism and eating the bodies of the deceased.
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.
What caused the plane crash in Society of the Snow?
The next day, Oct. 13, 1972, the plane took off again and was flying through the Andes when the co-pilot at the controls started to descend, mistakenly thinking he'd cleared the mountain range. The aircraft hit a mountain, breaking both wings off and causing the fuselage to slide down a mountain.
Which is more accurate, Alive or Society of the Snow?
Society of the Snow tells a more authentic and dignified story of the Andes plane crash survivors compared to the Hollywoodized version in Alive. The movie portrays the trauma and suffering of the survivors in a tangible way, making their experiences feel more genuine and relatable.
Netflix's Society of the Snow might just be the most accurate retelling yet of the Andes disaster – with director JA Bayona explaining that he prepared for the film "like a documentary" and interviewing survivors "for hours". "We did extensive research," he explained during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.
Did the actors in Society of the Snow have to lose weight?
- Juan Antonio Bayona wanted 'Society of the Snow' to exude realism, so he sought scientific advice to ensure that 30 actors lost 30 kilos within a few months, mirroring the victims of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash in the Andes in 1972.
Today, in 2024, only 14 of the 16 survivors are alive. Javier Methol passed away in 2015 due to cancer, surviving almost 43 years after the crash. He was 36 at the time of the accident, the oldest of the survivors. José Luis “Coche” Inciarte, died in 2023, also of cancer.
What happened to the men from Society of the Snow?
A total of 16 people survived after 72 days in the snow, while they endured avalanches, harsh cold, starvation and the decision to eat those who had died. Twelve people died as a result of the crash, while another 17 would die at various points afterward.
The about final half inch (10 mm/yr) per year crumples South America permanently, building the Andes. What's happening is like pushing a rug – the rug shortens in folds, and so the folds rise off the floor. A half inch per year doesn't sound like much – but over 25 million years, it can build giant mountains!
The survivors in the movie and in real life reported that their urine had turned a dark brown color that they even described as "black." Bigney said that could be a sign that "your internal organs really are having a hard time, and most likely due to dehydration."
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.
Why did the Andes plane crash survivors not light a fire?
Why didn't the people whose plane crashed in the Andes, not just light a fire, set the cushions on fire? The smoke would be dark acrid. Planes flying over the search area would see the smoke surely. Most of the search planes were searching in the wrong area, as the plane was off course.
The 16 that did live were forced to turn to cannibalism after the small amount of food supplies on board the plane ran out - the survivors cut 'matchstick sized' piece of flesh from those who had died and left it to dry out in the sun. Rodriguez was just 18 when the plane crashed, and actually turned 19 while stranded.
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.
