One of the 16 survivors of the Andes air tragedy in 1972, the Uruguayan José Luis Inciarte, died Thursday at the age of 75 in Montevideo, announced to AFP one of his companions in misfortune.
“We have lost a friend,” Roberto Canessa told AFP, confirming the death of the septuagenarian who had been suffering from cancer for ten years.
“Javier has already left us and now we are only 14”, he added, referring to Javier Methol, another survivor, who died in 2015 at the age of 79, also from complications. cancer.
These Uruguayans had survived 72 days in the mountains of Chile after the crash of their plane on October 13 which took them from Montevideo to Santiago to play a match of rugby.
Twelve of the 45 people on board died in the accident and 17 others succumbed to their injuries or died in avalanches.
After the search was abandoned, the survivors had to feed on the flesh of their deceased comrades to stay alive until two of them managed to alert the emergency services after ten days of walking through the snowy mountain.
In 2012, during a trip to Santiago to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the accident, José Luis Inciarte returned to the tragedy.
“Over time, the anguish, the suffering and the pain of the cold that gnaws at the skin gave way to hope, to the story of survival, solidarity and friendship that we experienced in the mountains” , he told AFP about the memories kept.
Born on April 24, 1948 in Montevideo, José Luis Inciarte was a farmer known for his kindness, generosity and optimism.
“I will treasure all the moments that I lived with him. Rest in peace friend”, wrote on Instagram the Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, to whom we owe the film “La sociedad de la nieve” inspired by the crash. Based on the book by Uruguayan Pablo Vierci, it will have its world premiere on September 9 at the end of the 80th Venice Film Festival.
This tragic story had already been adapted in the hit film “The Survivors”, released in 1993.
07/27/2023 21:29:01 – Montevideo (AFP) – © 2023 AFP