Fifty years ago a plane crash in the Andes in which survivors were left for a gruelling ten weeks in arctic conditions without food became legendary when it emerged that those few who remained alive had turned cannibal, eating the flesh of their dead companions. Ultimately only 16 out of 45 were rescued alive.
Their story was brought to life by Piers Paul Read in his bestseller, Alive, with a Hollywood film to follow and now Netflix is to dramatize a reprise.
The survivors are a close-knit group who meet each year on December 22, the day the rescue began for a barbecue and attend a mass with relatives of their dead friends every October 13. None regret what they did to survive.
Not all were killed in the initial crash and some succumbed to their injuries and others died in an avalanche. When they had lost all hope of being found, two of the group set off in search of help, scaling a 5,000m mountain with a homemade sleeping bag and rugby socks filled with human flesh. After ten days, they saw a Chilean shepherd across a raging river, threw him a note wrapped round a rock and he rode 100 miles to summon help.
The crash occurred on 13 October 1972 3.34pm near Curico, Chile when there was a brutal and destructive Mars Pluto conjunction amplified in square to Jupiter Moon in Capricorn. There was also a Sun Uranus conjunction in the 8th trine Saturn in the 4th and Neptune conjunct the Midheaven.
The previous Cancer Solar Eclipse in July was in a series which suggests the possibility of breaking out of a very negative situation where no hope can be seen to a more positive space.
Of those who survived. Roberto Canessa, one of the two who summoned help, became a leading cardiologist and mountaineer, 17 January 1953. He is a Sun Capricorn square Saturn Neptune in Libra; with his Mercury opposition Uranus square Neptune indicating a strong faith which would have helped. He also had an upbeat Mars Venus in Pisces sextile Jupiter in Taurus. His Solar Arc Pluto was opposition his Mars Venus over the crash and aftermath; and tr Pluto was opposition his Solar Arc Mars Venus.
Fernando Parrado, 9 December 1949, a Sun Sagittarius square Saturn Mars in Virgo also had an emphasised Neptune on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine of Sun trine Pluto, sextile Neptune. His Solar Arc Mars was conjunct his Neptune at the crash.
Carlos Paez, 31 October 1953, 31 October 1953, a serious Sun Saturn in Scorpio with an optimistic Neptune trine Jupiter, sextile Pluto. Tr Uranus was conjunct his Solar Arc Mars at the crash.
Eduardo Strauch, 13 August 1947, a Sun Venus, Saturn, Pluto and Mercury in Leo in an optimistic square to Jupiter with a risk-taking Mars Uranus in Gemini. His Progressed Mars was catching the tr Uranus conjunction over the crash.
Jupiter and Neptune get a bad reputation for being lazy and/or unrealistic. But in situations of trauma or high stress, they crop up remarkably frequently as life savers. Hope and vision help.
Mars involved in accidents is no surprise either.
Just to add that BBC iPlayer has a Storyville documentary from 2008 titled “Stranded! The Andes Plane Crash Survivors” available until mid-November.
Description suggests its interviews rather than a recreation “Thirty years later, those that got down from the mountain relive their 72 days ‘up there’ to give this extraordinarily powerful, vivid and immediate account of human endurance and heroism.”
There is such a thing as a life force. Some have it, some don’t. It’s very strong. I don’t know if it’s evident in an astrological chart, but clearly these people had it. It’s why they can’t regret what they did. It was, as they say, stronger than them!
My much loved mum at 102 years old, despite becoming deaf and blind, though still intelligently active, could not let go. She wanted to die, but just couldn’t, then one day when she was 103, 6 weeks off from Pluto square her Aries sun opp mars, she left, but not easily.
During her last years she was imprisoned in her body. It was terrble. Painfully frustrating for her. I have a horrible feeling I’m similar. I’m the only person I know who genuinely fears living a long life. I seem to remember an astrologer mentioning mars in cancer square aries sun conjunction neptune. Natal mars and Neptune were both in cancer in 12th house, with moon in scorpio in 4th with leo rising, he said her chart was fascinating. She was a force to be reckoned with. Intense!
I’m also pondering the action of Jupiter and Neptune which i have on focal point of t-square – square Capricorn Sun opp Cancer Moon/Saturn. I seem outwardly lazy sometimes but inside am incubating thoughts which are relevant to direction. it is important to know the position of one’s North Star, but like a yacht, not imagine one is going there in a straight line but in spite of whatever vagaries encountered, that is still the internal direction. Maybe that worked for the plane survivors. i agree with you GnarlyDude – hope hangs on in there!
Nice reminder. I remember watching the 1993 film by Ron Howard at the cinema. You want to say it was unbelievable but it was just facts. Think Hollywood tended to be less dramatic in its adaptations back then. The plane crash scene was amazing but then they got hit by the avalanche some days later.
If I recall correctly from something I read afterwards the survivors were shunned by others because of the cannibalism. They were between a rock and a hard place because while eating human flesh wasn’t seen as right; their religion (Catholicism?) would also shun them because God had provided them with a means of survival so they couldn’t not eat it, or it would be suicide. At least that’s how I understood it.
Was thinking about my own Jupiter and Neptune this morning. Hope springs eternal. As long as I can think of another option, I will keep going and trying.