1972: Old Christians Rugby Union Club

An Uruguayan Air Force charter plane carrying 45 people, most of them members of the Old Christians rugby club and their supporters, crashed on Oct. 13 high in the Andes Mountains of Argentina, setting into motion one of the 20th century’s most harrowing stories of survival.

Stranded at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet in frigid conditions, 16 passengers were ultimately rescued 72 days after the crash, having survived by cannibalizing the frozen bodies of fellow passengers.

Twenty-seven people survived the crash and their injuries in the first several days. Of the initial survivors, eight were killed by an avalanche while sleeping in the plane’s fuselage more than two weeks after the crash. The last 16 people were rescued after two of the team’s players trekked for 10 days looking for help.

Many of the team’s members were university students who played for the Old Christians, the alumni team of the high school they had attended in Montevideo, Uruguay. The plane was flying between Montevideo and Santiago, Chile.