A survivor of the real-life plane crash that inspired the film Society of the Snow has spoken about his experience eating human flesh for the first time.
Of the 45 people on board the plane at the time of the crash, only 16 managed to get off the mountain. The remainder either died in the crash, from their injuries, or were killed by an avalanche that hit the fuselage of the plane in which the survivors had taken refuge.
After learning that the rescue effort had been called off and they were unable to call for help, the survivors decided to send people out to seek help and eventually a team managed to return to civilization.
The plane had crashed on October 13, 1972 and the last survivor was evacuated from the mountain on December 23.
The 2023 film Society of the Snow depicts the harrowing experience of plane crash survivors. Photo credit: NetflixAmong those rescued from the mountain was Eduardo Strauch, who was part of the first group evacuated on December 22nd.
He said: “My mind was fine, I did the whole process and I had no conscience problem at all, but my body rejected it the first time.”
“It was something unconscious because of the culture and all the taboos.”
“It doesn’t taste good, it’s like eating a piece of rice.”
Eduardo then went on to explain that his cousin Fito, who also survived and was rescued on December 23, was the one who cut flesh from the bodies of the deceased and helped him eat them.
Eduardo Strauch survived a plane crash in 1972 and said the worst moment was the avalanche. Photo credit: Premiere SpeakersThe food supplies on board the plane, which consisted largely of wine and sweets, were depleted when the survivors made the incredibly difficult decision to resort to cannibalism.
Eduardo also said that eating human flesh was not the most difficult part of his ordeal, as he was buried alive by the avalanche that killed eight people when it hit the wreckage of the plane 17 days after the traumatic events.
He said he “felt sure I was dead” and “had this experience of dying,” explaining that at that moment he “didn't want to come out” for a few seconds before struggling to free himself from the snow .
He went on to say that the moment he saw the rescue helicopter arrive was “the best moment of my life,” and in 1995 he returned to the crash site to honor the memory of his friends who died on the mountain.