An INA report broadcast on television in 1973 reveals that the rescue of the survivors did not actually take place, as recounted by Juan Antonio Bayona in “The Circle of Snows,” which is still in the top Netflix charts.
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Available in the Netflix catalog since January 4, 2024, The Snow Circle looks back at the crash of Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya 571 in the Andes on October 13, 1972. The dramatic film by Juan Antonio Bayona remained in first place for the most viewed content for a long time and still maintains a comfortable place in the rankings today. While one of the sixteen survivors confirmed that The Circle of Snows was indeed the most realistic film project, an INA report broadcast in 1973 proves that the director took some creative liberties in rescuing the rugby team players after two months of survival. The video at the time was added to the INA YouTube account a few months ago and contains the statements of three survivors, Carlos Paez, Pedro Algorta and Roberto Canassa, but also of commander Jorge Massa, the rescue pilot, the shepherd Sergio Martinez Catalan and mountain guide Sergio Diaz. Also speaking were Fernando Baquedano, director of the San Fernando Hospital, and the Uruguayan Minister for Chile, César Charlone.
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The Snow Circle: The miraculous exchange with the farmer actually lasted three days
After long days of hiking, Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa managed to cross the mountain range and reach the Rio Azufre valley. As we see in “The Circle of Snows,” there they miraculously meet a farmer, Sergio Catalán, with whom they thank him by sending him a piece of paper sent with a stone. In reality, the survivors and the farmer could not hear each other at all because of the noise of the torrent. When they met, the man left to return the next day and send them the stone and paper. After receiving the news, he had to drive into town to call emergency services. Except that his means of transport was the horse, and that The city was about ten hours away. The two survivors had to wait It took almost three days until the emergency services actually provided care.
Some survivors had to spend another night in the rubble while the others were rescued
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In the film, everyone felt a certain excitement when the helicopter arrived at the wreckage to rescue the crash survivors. Except in reality, due to space constraints, not all of the 16 friends got into the machine… As the INA report reports, some had to spend another night in the wreck, waiting for a new device to come to their aid the next day. Mountain guides stayed with them. Luckily nothing dramatic happened last night while we waited for rescue.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias