The world of sports is full of many different stories, including sad ones. Promising careers interrupted early are among the major tragedies, and today we are going to talk about one of the greatest tragedies in the history of world sports.
72 Days in the Andes
On Friday, October 13, 1972, the Uruguayan rugby team was en route to Santiago de Chile in an air force plane when, amidst bad weather, the pilots got confused and started the descent procedure prematurely. The result was an impact on the summit of the mountain, at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, practically at cruising speed. The Fairchild FH-7827 turboprop broke in two and plunged at more than 300 km/h through the snow to an ice floe.
Twelve people died in the crash. Seventeen others could not survive the days that followed – including Parrado’s mother and younger sister, who were on the flight at his invitation. But one group of young people managed to endure temperatures of up to minus 30 degrees Celsius without adequate clothing, as well as a shortage of food and water.
Desperate Measures and a Rescue
When the food ran out, one of the survivors suggested feeding on the remains of the other victims of the tragedy. At first, most were reluctant, believing that they would soon be rescued. But as the days went by, they gave in to hunger. All the passengers who survived were Roman Catholics, so they equated cannibalism with the ritual of Holy Communion.
Two months after the accident, two passengers who were in better condition, walked for 11 days until they found shepherds in an area further away from the mountain range. In the following days, the authorities rescued the other survivors. All were taken to hospitals in Santiago. Many of them were dehydrated, malnourished, had burns, scurvy, and broken bones.
We can only hope that the world will never see such a tragedy again and that sports may remain the uplifting force that they are. And now, before you go, here goes one last tip from us to you: check out the best free betting software to always get the best limits and odds.