Nando Parrado One of the survivors of Flight 571 in Chile in 1972 Date of Birth: 09.12.1949 Country: Uruguay

1. Biography of Nando Parrado
2. Early Life and Sports Career
3. The Andes Flight Disaster
4. The Miraculous Rescue
5. After the Rescue

Biography of Nando Parrado

Nando Parrado, born Fernando Seler Parrado Dolgay, is one of the survivors of the 1972 Andes flight disaster. He was born in 1949 in Montevideo, Uruguay, to parents Seler and Eugenia Parrado.

Early Life and Sports Career

Parrado attended Stella Maris College in Montevideo, where he was an active sportsman, playing rugby for the 'Old Christians Club' team. He was known as an ordinary carefree guy, driving friends and girlfriends along the coast in his Renault, lounging on the beach, living with his parents, and enjoying his mother's cooking. Although he wasn't particularly diligent in his studies, he wholeheartedly played rugby.

The Andes Flight Disaster

In the fall of 1972, Parrado's team decided to fly to Chile for a friendly match on a twin-engine Fairchild plane that could accommodate 45 people. Many relatives also decided to join the trip. On October 13, 1972, Parrado found himself among the passengers of the ill-fated Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains. The crash occurred due to the pilot's error, as the plane's wing clipped an unnamed rock at 4000 meters altitude. Both wings were torn off, and the fuselage crashed into the snow, which softened the impact.
Nearly a quarter of the passengers, including Parrado's mother, died in the crash, but he was among the 28 survivors. When Parrado regained consciousness, his surviving teammates explained what had happened. The following days were terrifyingly unreal, as despite their attempts to attract attention, the passing planes did not see them. It soon became clear that they could not rely on a swift rescue. Unfortunately, Parrado's surviving sister was very weak, and despite his efforts to alleviate her suffering, she passed away after a week. The small group of people dwindled every day and found themselves doomed to a terrible death in the indifferent mountains. All they had were mountains, snow, cold, and despair that turned into a fear of death. They had to spend the nights in the battered fuselage, which provided some shelter from the cold, but they couldn't solve the other problem – they had almost no food.

The Miraculous Rescue

As time passed, nearly two months had elapsed since the crash when Parrado and his teammate Roberto Canessa decided to search for help themselves. Waiting was pointless, and further delay would only lead to death. They decided to head west, believing that civilization lay in that direction. On the ninth day, after a 60-kilometer trek through the Andes, Parrado and Canessa reached civilization and encountered a Chilean shepherd. He immediately reported their situation to the authorities, and on December 22, two rescue helicopters arrived at the crash site. Fourteen remaining survivors were saved. Parrado himself participated in the rescue expedition.

After the Rescue

Soon, the "resurrected" rugby players became national heroes in their homeland. However, an investigation was conducted to determine how they had sustained themselves during the two months in the snow-covered mountains. The survivors had tried to keep the details of their survival a secret, but they were unable to do so. They soon learned that cannibalism had captured people's imaginations. Nevertheless, the fact remains that thanks to Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, 16 people out of 45 survived the Andes flight disaster.

In the 1993 film "Alive: Miracle in The Andes," Parrado was portrayed by Ethan Hawke. In 2006, he co-authored the book "Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home." Today, Parrado is a successful businessman. He is married and has two daughters. In his free time, he enjoys racing and staying active in sports.