The survivors had little food and no source of heat in the harsh conditions at over 3,600 metres (11,800 ft) altitude.įaced with starvation and radio news reports that search and rescue stopped, the survivors fed on the dead passengers preserved in the snow. Rescue came for the last 16 survivors on 23 December 1972, more than two months after the crash. Of the 27 who were alive a few days after the accident, another eight died because of an avalanche that swept over their shelter in the wreckage. More than a quarter of the passengers died in the crash and several others quickly succumbed to cold and injury. In the Hispanic world and South America, it is also known as the Miracle in the Andes ( El Milagro de los Andes). The plane crashed in the Andes on 13 October 1972, in an incident known as the Andes flight disaster. With them also were their friends, family, and associates. Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 was a chartered flight carrying 45 people, including a rugby union team. Learn more about Mawson’s journey and survival in the video below by Today I Found Out: The ship meant to take him back home had sailed off only a few hours earlier, believing him dead. He was then told that he would have to wait 10 more months in Antarctica. He also fell into a crevasse, where he “dangled helplessly above the abyss, with his sledge behind him edging towards the lip.”Īfter pulling himself up from a frozen grave and surviving 32 days in the harshest environment on the planet, Mawson finally reached his hut. They were around 310 miles from home.Įventually, Mertz died from cold and exhaustion, leaving Mawson to soldier on alone… Then, unbelievably (or perhaps totally believably), Mawson’s sledge got wedged in the snow. On December 14, 1912, Mawson and his two colleagues, Belgrave Ninnis and Xavier Mertz, were returning to base after successfully not dying for a few days… when Ninnis fell into a crevasse, dragging their sledge, their supplies, and most of their dogs down with him.

Watch Today’s interviews with Simpson and Yates below for their true survival stories in this video by the World Expeditions:ĭouglas Mawson is now an Australian hero due to his historic Antarctic exploration mission in the early 20th century. Simpson has always vehemently defended Yates, saying he would have done it himself given the same position. Yates argued that he could not rely upon an army of people to help since they were far on the mountain flank with a raging storm in progress.ĭespite this decision, his rescue attempt contributed significantly to saving Simpson’s life. Some mountaineers were very critical of Yates’ decision to cut the rope on his partner. Simpson managed to climb out of the crevasse and reached base camp four days later. He survived the fall, unbeknownst to Yates, who assumed he died. Simpson thus fell approximately 50 feet into the crevasse. To avoid falling off the mountain himself, Yates cut the rope.

This meant that he was hanging over a deep crevasse with only Simpson’s hold on the rope to prevent him falling. While descending in the night in bad weather, Yates lowered Simpson over an unseen cliff edge. To continue descending, Yates then used ropes to lower Simpson down the mountain in stages. On the descent, Simpson fell through a cornice, breaking his right leg and heel. Together with Joe Simpson, Simon Yates climbed Siula Grande in 1985, via the hitherto unclimbed west face.

True survival story