A plane has crashed in Uruguay during an event to remember a plane that crashed in 1972.
There were two men aboard the Piper J-3 light aircraft when it went down near a beachside anniversary barbecue in Montevideo, Uruguay yesterday.
The pilot, Rodrigo Artagaveytia, swam to safety but the co-pilot, Fernando Gonzalez Foreti, has still not been found.
They were marking the infamous Andes flight disaster, when 29 people died on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 after it crashed in remote mountains.
The pilot, Rodrigo Artagaveytia, swam to safety but the co-pilot, Fernando Gonzalez Foreti, has still not been found
There were two men aboard the Piper J-3 light aircraft (pictured) when it crashed near a beachside anniversary barbecue in Montevideo, Uruguay yesterday
They were marking the infamous Andes flight disaster, when 29 people died on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 (pictured) after it crashed in remote mountains.
The event was part of preparations to mark the 45th anniversary of the calamity on Friday. Pictured: The plane on the beach after crashing
Some of the 16 people who survived the catastrophic crash (pictured) – including members of the Old Christians Club rugby team – were forced to resort to cannibalism to stay alive during their 72-day ordeal.
Some of the 16 people who survived the catastrophic crash – including members of the Old Christians Club rugby team – were forced to resort to cannibalism to stay alive during their 72-day ordeal.
The crash and passengers’ struggle for survival were dramatised in the 1993 film Alive, starring Ethan Hawke.
The man who suggested passengers eat human remains to stay alive – Roberto Canessa – was at the gathering for the anniversary and saw the plane come down.
He told El Pais newspaper that he was ‘very sad’ about the crash. He added: ‘I feel really bad.’
The event was part of preparations to mark the 45th anniversary of the calamity on Friday.
The 1972 flight had 45 passengers on board, including the Old Christians Club players and their friends and family.
They were flying to Chile to play an amateur rugby game. Because it could never go ahead, there is now an annual Chile v Uruguay match to mark the disaster.
Twelve people died after the plane went down in an isolated spot along the Chile-Argentina border.
The 1972 flight had 45 passengers on board, including the Old Christians Club players and their friends and family
Because the survivors had only a few snacks, chocolate bars and bottles of wine, they were forced to eat the flesh of passengers who had died
They were eventually rescued two days before Christmas – 72 days after the crash – when Canessa and Nando Parrado hiked for 10 days before finding help. They attached a note to a rock during their trek. It read: ‘I come from an airplane that crashed in the mountains. I am Uruguayan. We have been walking for about ten days. Fourteen others remain in the airplane. They are also injured. They don’t have anything to eat and cannot leave. We cannot walk any further. Please come and get us’
A decomposing body lies in snow outside the wreckage of the charted Uruguayan plane. The plane went down on October 13 – but to add to the passengers’ rotten luck, they were hit by an avalanche 16 days later
Over the next few days, another 17 perished – most from exposure and starvation.
Because the survivors had only a few chocolate bars and snacks alongside bottles of wine, they were forced to eat the flesh of passengers who had died.
To add to the passengers’ rotten luck, they were also hit by an avalanche 16 days after coming down on October 13.
Those who had survived in the mountains were eventually rescued two days before Christmas – and 72 days after the crash – when Canessa and Nando Parrado hiked for 10 days before finding help.