"Survival in the Andes Tragedy: The Decision to Feed on the Deceased Explained"

Survival Decision of Andes Tragedy Survivors: Feeding on the Deceased Altitude of 3,600 meters was the stark reality facing the survivors stranded among icy hills and snow, with nothing to consume. Vegetation or wildlife were nowhere to be found, neither were insects or worms. Soon, the meager food supplies from their luggage were depleted. The only conceivable means for survival lay with the inert, frozen corpses of fellow travelers who died during the October 13, 1972, flight 571 air crash in the Andes. **Editor's Note:** The following content contains descriptions that some might find distressing. Some of them firmly believed that consuming this only available source of meat was their only means of survival. On the other hand, individuals like Alfredo "Pancho" Delgado or Pedro Algorta became convinced – and convinced others – based on biblical principles. The couple of Javier and Liliana Methol resisted until the end, giving in only because of their love for their four children. While Eduardo Strauch handled cutting the meat, he found it really hard to consume. Some had to be practically forced to eat. Yet, all survivors necessarily had to consume the protein found only in the frozen flesh of their friends, as they recounted upon rescue. **Revealing the Truth** When the world learned of their survival and the news spread like wildfire that 16 young Uruguayans had endured 72 days in the Andes, the recurring question was what they had eaten in those barren and frozen mountains. Amidst diverse rumors, six days post-discovery on December 28, 1972,;a press conference was held at Stella Maris College, where most of the survivors were students. At first, one by one, they started sharing their experiences without touching on that point, until Alfredo "Pancho" Delgado took the floor. “One wakes up in the morning and looks around at those snowy peaks, awe-inspiring. The silence of the mountain range is majestic, sensational. It is something that terrifies, one is alone, alone, alone against the world and I can assure you that God is there. We all experienced it within ourselves,” he began. As he detailed what they lived through and remembered with emotion and admiration the 29 who did not survive, he came to the crucial point: “the moment came when we had no food or anything like that and we thought: if Jesus at the Last Supper shared his body and blood with all his apostles, there he was teaching us we should do the same: to take his body and blood. And that intimate communion among all of us was what helped us survive. And it was a sacrifice by each one of us.” At the end of his speech, there were no more questions from journalists. The audience applauded. And thus, the world learned the news: the 16 survivors had survived by eating human flesh. **Making the Decision** Eduardo Strauch recounted to CNN, "We were weakening rapidly." Therefore, some survivors started to discuss the pending matter under the radar. "We're getting very weak, we have to look for proteins, because otherwise in 2, 3 more days we won't be able to get up or think or anything." Around the tenth day on the mountain, most were aware that they could not endure much longer without dying of starvation. They even tried to eat shoe soles, but failed. “We started to exchange ideas, to expose arguments: we are all going to die if we do not eat the meat of the dead,” Strauch continued. Roberto Canessa, the group's medical student, described how their bodies were consuming themselves from starvation and how human flesh could sustain them. "Some said no, it's impossible, we're not going to do it," Strauch shared. The most hesitant or those who struggled with the idea were José Luis "Coche" Inciarte, team captain Marcel Pérez del Castillo, Numa Turcatti, or the Methol couple. Thus, they made a pact: all would donate their body as food if they died. "And in the end, when the idea arose that we were going to offer ourselves to each other as food, everyone became convinced: because no one knew who was going to be feeding the other,” Strauch explained. On the Society of Snow's website, they explain it this way: “one of the moral impediments they faced, as Catholics, was their religious beliefs. Many ended up understanding that, precisely as Catholics, they had an obligation to remain alive at all costs, and that the bodies lying before their eyes were meat and nothing more than meat: the souls had already left the bodies.” The meat-cutting and portioning duties were usually handled by the Strauch cousins (Alfredo "Fito" Strauch, Eduardo Strauch, and Daniel Fernandez Strauch). Only they knew which body each portion came from. They never discussed which ones were used or not. Only three were untouchable: those of Fernando Parrado's mother and sister, and Liliana Methol. Nonetheless, before setting off on the final expedition, Parrado gave permission to use the bodies of his loved ones if necessary.