At the beginning of January, Netflix released “The snow company“, a film that deals with the true events of a tragic plane crash that occurred on October 13, 1972 in the Argentine Andes.
Based on the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci, a childhood friend of the passengers, the film has caused a lot of excitement in recent days.
The story revolves around 16 survivors who were isolated in the freezing mountains for two months after the plane crash.
The hero of mule care
Scene from “The Snow Society” Image: Netflix/Reproduction
A recurring question is: Who was the person who first found the two passengers Roberto Canessa and Fernando “Nando” Parrado? According to true reports, Chilean Sergio Catalán played this crucial role.
At that time he was a muleteer busy tending his herd when he came across the two men who had spent about ten days looking for help.
However, for Sergio Catalán the situation seemed to be just a walk in the park. He had no idea about it tragedy that had happened.
Canessa and Parrado decided to separate themselves from the other survivors to increase their chances of getting help.
While the others waited for help at the plane crash site, Canessa and Parrado reached the mountain peak, crossed it and eventually found vegetation.
These reports were shared by Canessa in an interview with the Uruguayan program Informal Breakfasts.
The man who played a crucial role in these meetings, Sergio Catalán, unfortunately passed away in February 2020, but his contribution to the history of these meetings cannot be overlooked 16 survivors stays alive.
A cry for help on a note
Sergio Catalán, divided by a stream with strong rapids and no means of communication, threw a paper and a pen to Parrado. In this note he wrote about the dire situation:
“I came from a plane that crashed in the mountains, I'm Uruguayan, we've been traveling for 10 days, I have an injured friend up there [Canessa]who did not go to the bank of the stream because of an injury and because he was very weak.”
Sergio Catalán made a heroic 120kilometer journey on horseback to deliver this message to the authorities.
Despite showing the note, help was only sent two days later due to adverse weather conditions.
And that's how it happened Story “The Snow Society” highlights not only the resilience of the survivors, but also the courage of people like Sergio Catalán, whose quick actions played a crucial role in finding help.