He began to climb, until the plane was nearly vertical and it began to stall and shake. We didnât kill anyone. What is the single most important lesson you learned on the mountain? A lizard was looking at me. Felipe Berchesi of Uruguay kicks during the win over Fiji. Well, this is the real thing. I think we survived because we were a team and because we managed to walk out of the mountains. This was the stark choice facing a rugby team from Uruguay, and some of their friends and family, when the plane carrying them to a match in Chile crashed on October 13, 1972, in what was fittingly known as The Valley of Tears. I thought it was sending a warning, âWhat are you doing here? How the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Crash Drove a Rugby Team to Cannibalism By Wyatt Redd. I was also in charge of carting the dead bodies, which some people couldnât stand. We used the bottom of the seats for snowshoes and built hammocks for the people with broken legs. Twelve were killed in the crash, six died in the next few days, and 11 more died due to the lack of food and harsh conditions they faced. We had rented an air force plane to go from Uruguay to Chile. The plane crash that wiped out most of a top-flight Brazilian soccer squad late Monday evoked memories of the 1972 Uruguayan rugby tragedy that spawned the book and hit … My children went to school with the nieces and nephews of those that died, and I think this was a very good healing process. And that was very tough. Above, some of the survivors shortly after rescuers reached them, 72 days after the crash. It was like going to a five star hotel. Two Uruguayans, Luis Suarez (Barcelona) and Edinson Cavani (Paris St Germain), are among the top strikers in Europe today. The series of events were arranged in the run-up to the 45th anniversary on Friday. VideoThe man who filmed his ordeal under rubble, Courtroom escape sends police officer flying. It was like a mirror and I saw my grandmother when I was very young. Santiago Arata dives to score Uruguay's first try against Fiji. We made a pact that, if we died, we would be happy to put our bodies to the service of the rest of the team. While Uruguay do not boast big name players, Meneses summed up the secret of their success. The decision to accept it intellectually is only one step, though. He coached Uruguay at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia where Los Teros beat Georgia 24-12, but were thrashed by South Africa, England and Samoa in the tournament's Group of Death. The pilot survived. Almost half Uruguay's World Cup squad play for clubs in the country's 11-team Primera Liga semi-pro competition. Who survived? But then one of the other boys said, âRoberto, how lucky you are that you can walk for all of us.â That was like a heroic infusion into my heart. There have been other books, and the movie Alive, about this event. Itâs my revenge on death. Ormaechea - set to become the first Uruguayan in World Rugby's Hall of Fame - typifies the country's amateur rugby ethos. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Nine of Uruguay's 11 premier clubs are based in Montevideo, the capital city where over half the nation's population lives. VideoThe fight for women's prayer rights in Israel, âTo be a black woman right now, itâs painfulâ VideoâTo be a black woman right now, itâs painfulâ, .css-orcmk8-HeadlineContainer{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}Brain-eating microbe: US city warned over water supply.css-1dedj2h-Rank{-webkit-align-self:center;-ms-flex-item-align:center;align-self:center;color:#B80000;margin-left:3.125rem;}1, Amy Coney Barrett: Trump nominates conservative favourite for Supreme Court2, Amy Coney Barrett: Who is Trump's Supreme Court pick?3, Sir David Attenborough: Naturalist gives Prince George a fossil at royal screening4, Brexit trade talks: Deal can and must be made, says CBI boss5, Coronavirus: Students 'scared and confused' as halls lock down6, Switzerland gets ready to vote on ending free movement with EU7, Azerbaijan and Armenia clash over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region8, Covid-19: Prince Charles highlights coronavirus impact on young people9, Italian family fosters Gambian migrant: 'The son we never had'10.