40th anniversary for the Andes Survivors

[Baitball Blogger]

Andes survivors mark 40th anniversary of crash
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — An Uruguayan rugby team played a match that was postponed for four decades when their plane crashed in the Andes, stranding them for 72 days in the cordillera and forcing them to eat human flesh to stay alive.

The Old Christians Club squared off Saturday in Santiago against the Old Grangonian Club, the former Chilean rugby team they were to have played to mark the 40th anniversary of the crash made internationally famous by a best-selling book and a Hollywood movie.

"At about this time we were falling in the Andes. Today we're here to win a game," Pedro Algorta, 61, a survivor of the crash said as he prepared to walk onto the playing field surrounded by the jagged mountains that trapped the group.

Military jets flew over the field, where parachutists in Chilean and Uruguayan flags landed. Survivors wept when officials unveiled a commemorative frame with pictures of those who died in the snowy peaks.


http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20121013/14bc6e3a-fb9e-403a-9476-a84a02e48693

[jberryhill]

1. Hard to believe "Survivor" has been around that long...

...especially given the tragic failure to remember to bring cameras to that first season in the Andes.



"Wanna know what you'll be playing for?"

[begin_within]

2. It's an amazing survival story

not just because of the cannibalism aspect but the rest of the story too. It's amazing anyone survived after what they went through. I'd encourage anyone to read the books about it.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. I never read the book, but I watched the documentary and the movie.

I felt like I really got to know them. They were athletes and I can't imagine that anyone else would have survived it.

[CanSocDem]

4. One of the best....

...books I ever read. Simply couldn't put it down.

.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Great book. Horrible movie.

Can't believe it's been 40 years.