Read Online CANNIBALS (True Crime) by Ray Black - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ray Black
Tags: nonfiction
Ads: Link
Catalan managed to throw a rock across the river with a message attached to it which read:
There is a man coming later that I told him to go. Tell me what you need.
Parrado, after reading the message, sent a note back in return which said:
I come from a plane that fell in the mountains I am Uruguayan. We have been walking for ten days. I have a friend up there who is injured. In the plane there are still 14 injured people. We have to get out of here quickly and we don’t know how. We don’t have any food. We are weak. When are you going to come and fetch us? Please. We can’t even walk. Where are we? SOS.
The rancher read the note and pulled some bread out of his pocket which he threw across the river to the survivors. Three hours later another man arrived, this time on their side of the river, and he brought with him some cheese which they grabbed at hungrily. The man, Armando Serda, said he had to go off and see to his cattle but he would return to take them back to his hut, while they waited for the authorities to arrive. They couldn’t believe their luck once back at the hut, for they washed, were fed, and were given comfortable beds. It was now December 21, 70 days since the plane had crashed, and as last they were saved.
Meanwhile, back at the plane, they had been listening to the radio news telling them that their friends had been found. At first they couldn’t believe what they heard, but when they changed to a different channel and heard the same thing, they were in a state of elation. They rushed around and started to clear up the inside of the plane, and tried to make themselves look as respectable as possible. They did consider burying the remains of their dead companions, but the surface of the snow was rock hard with ice and so they thought better of it.
At around 1.00 p.m. on the 22nd, the remaining survivors heard the joyous sound of helicopters flying overhead. The first rescuer who jumped from the helicopter was greeted with elated cheers and was embraced by those of the survivors who were still able to stand. After a couple of days all the men left at the sight of the crash had been airlifted to a hospital in Santiago.
T HE G RUESOME R EMAINS
When all the survivors had been safely airlifted away from the site, it was the task of the rescuers to recover the bodies of the 29 people who had died on the mountain. But they soon realized that this was to be no ordinary case. Normally the SAR would have stayed at the site and collected the bodies taking them to Santiago for inspection and eventual release to their next of kin. However, while they discovered 14 intact bodies, only scant, unidentifiable pieces of the remaining 15 could be found. The rescue team decided to leave the remains on the mountain and wait for instructions from a higher authority.
After speaking to the victims’ families and considering all the options, it was decided that their remains would be buried on the mountainside where they were discovered. It was felt that this was the best option to avoid the further trauma of their relatives discovering that their loved ones had actually been used for food. Over the course of a few days all the remains were gathered up from inside the fuselage, and outside, were placed in body bags and moved to a shallow grave. This grave was covered in rocks and an iron cross was erected to show the place where they had died.
The wreckage of the fuselage was set on fire, destroying any evidence of the incredible ordeal that had taken place on the side of the mountain in the Andes.
The memorial placed on the grave simply said:
The world to its Uruguayan brothers – 1972
There is a man coming later that I told him to go. Tell me what you need.
Parrado, after reading the message, sent a note back in return which said:
I come from a plane that fell in the mountains I am Uruguayan. We have been walking for ten days. I have a friend up there who is injured. In the plane there are still 14 injured people. We have to get out of here quickly and we don’t know how. We don’t have any food. We are weak. When are you going to come and fetch us? Please. We can’t even walk. Where are we? SOS.
The rancher read the note and pulled some bread out of his pocket which he threw across the river to the survivors. Three hours later another man arrived, this time on their side of the river, and he brought with him some cheese which they grabbed at hungrily. The man, Armando Serda, said he had to go off and see to his cattle but he would return to take them back to his hut, while they waited for the authorities to arrive. They couldn’t believe their luck once back at the hut, for they washed, were fed, and were given comfortable beds. It was now December 21, 70 days since the plane had crashed, and as last they were saved.
Meanwhile, back at the plane, they had been listening to the radio news telling them that their friends had been found. At first they couldn’t believe what they heard, but when they changed to a different channel and heard the same thing, they were in a state of elation. They rushed around and started to clear up the inside of the plane, and tried to make themselves look as respectable as possible. They did consider burying the remains of their dead companions, but the surface of the snow was rock hard with ice and so they thought better of it.
At around 1.00 p.m. on the 22nd, the remaining survivors heard the joyous sound of helicopters flying overhead. The first rescuer who jumped from the helicopter was greeted with elated cheers and was embraced by those of the survivors who were still able to stand. After a couple of days all the men left at the sight of the crash had been airlifted to a hospital in Santiago.
T HE G RUESOME R EMAINS
When all the survivors had been safely airlifted away from the site, it was the task of the rescuers to recover the bodies of the 29 people who had died on the mountain. But they soon realized that this was to be no ordinary case. Normally the SAR would have stayed at the site and collected the bodies taking them to Santiago for inspection and eventual release to their next of kin. However, while they discovered 14 intact bodies, only scant, unidentifiable pieces of the remaining 15 could be found. The rescue team decided to leave the remains on the mountain and wait for instructions from a higher authority.
After speaking to the victims’ families and considering all the options, it was decided that their remains would be buried on the mountainside where they were discovered. It was felt that this was the best option to avoid the further trauma of their relatives discovering that their loved ones had actually been used for food. Over the course of a few days all the remains were gathered up from inside the fuselage, and outside, were placed in body bags and moved to a shallow grave. This grave was covered in rocks and an iron cross was erected to show the place where they had died.
The wreckage of the fuselage was set on fire, destroying any evidence of the incredible ordeal that had taken place on the side of the mountain in the Andes.
The memorial placed on the grave simply said:
The world to its Uruguayan brothers – 1972
Similar Books
