Encore: Plane Crash in the Andes | The Cutting | 2
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This episode originally aired in 2021. It's late morning on October 22nd, 1972, and Nando Parado stands outside the fuselage of the crashed Fairchild airplane. He's alone, examining a chocolate-covered peanut in the palm of his hand. Nando's been saving it. He puts it in his mouth and sucks off the chocolate and spits the nut back into his palm.

Later, he will allow himself a tiny nibble. After this, there's nothing left to eat. It's been 10 days since Nando's Uruguayan rugby team's flight crashed here, high in the Andes Mountains. And each day seems to be colder than the last. It's a bone-chilling cold that cuts to the core. Nando's been shivering constantly, and he knows it's burning calories he needs to make it out alive.

As an athlete, he's aware that the body requires massive caloric intake at altitudes like this. Most Andean hikers consume up to 15,000 calories a day to keep going. But Nando has eaten almost nothing for a week now. He's starting to feel his body take a turn for the worst.

At the start of this trip, he was in the physical prime of his life. But now, his body moves like he's aged 40 years. It's exhausting to even walk. But the truth is, he's lucky to be alive. A week ago, he was still unconscious from the plane crash. It's a miracle that his head wound is starting to heal. There was a blizzard earlier this morning. But for the moment, the sky is clear.

Nando is thankful for the small bit of warmth the sun is providing. He closes his eyes and leans his head back to face the sun. He thinks of his mother who died in the crash, his sister who perished from her injuries only a few days ago. If they died when he was at home, he would have been incapacitated with sadness. But here on the mountain, his body knows there is no time for grief.

So Nando simply imagines his mother and sister in the sky, watching over him. They'll help carry him to safety. The landscape around him is quiet. With his eyes closed, it seems almost peaceful. When he opens them, he notices that even the steep, jagged mountain to the west looks less threatening without dark clouds circling its peak. But he knows it's time to start making a plan. Nothing can live in such inhospitable conditions.

There's not a tree or a bush, a single blade of grass, no life at all, only stone and ice. That means they won't be able to find anything to eat. Up until now, Nando's been afraid to say out loud what he's thinking, but he can't keep silent any longer. He's going to have to talk to Roberto. Nando looks over at where the passengers who died in the crash lie, covered under a thin layer of snow.

Their spirits have left their bodies, and they've left behind the only sustenance to be found. Nando's certain that their only chance at survival is to send a small team through the mountains and down into Chile for help. And Nando plans to lead this team, but he'll never be able to climb through the Andes with a peanut as his ration. He will need to fill himself with protein and fat. He will need to build up his strength. All of the survivors will.

Nando knows the choice is grim. If they want to live, then they must eat the dead. In our fast-paced, screen-filled world, it can be all too easy to lose that sense of imagination and wonder.

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On October 13th, 1972, the Old Christians Rugby Club was flying from Montevideo, Uruguay to Santiago, Chile when their plane crashed in the Andes Mountains. At first, survivors of the crash expected rescuers to arrive quickly. But now, 10 days have passed. They remain stranded and their food supply has just run out. It's clear that they need to take their survival into their own hands.

But the question is, how? To what lengths are they willing to go to keep from starving? This is episode two, The Cutting. Roberto Canessa sits at the center of the fuselage and waits as his friends and teammates settle in around him. A cold wind whips in through the open back of the plane, but Roberto hardly feels it. His mind is elsewhere. He's preparing to make a speech.

He and Nando have called an urgent meeting, but they haven't disclosed the subject. Roberto is taking the lead. Unlike Nando, he is a devout Catholic, and his word will carry weight with the more pious survivors. Roberto nods politely as each of the 27 other survivors files in and takes a seat in the cramped space. Outside, the light is starting to dim. He opens the meeting with a simple declaration. We are starving to death.

Roberto spent the past days scouring the fuselage and surrounding areas for anything to eat. He and Nando split open seat cushions, hoping to find hay, but found only inedible foam. They harvested small bits of moss from the tops of stones in the area, but there wasn't enough to be a reliable food source for 27 people.

Roberto requested that a small team check every pocket and bag on the plane for any undiscovered morsels of food, but they couldn't find anything. They even tried to eat leather straps on their luggage, but the chemicals they were treated with only made them sick. There is simply nothing to eat. They've exhausted every option. Roberto glances around at his friends' sunken faces. They don't just look tired, they look defeated.

It's as though they'd like nothing better than to shut their eyes and drift away. But Roberto needs to summon their last bit of fight. A big decision has to be made. We will have to rescue ourselves. But how can we do that when we don't have enough strength to climb out of here? We need to eat. We must eat to gain our strength. And the only food available to us is the dead. Roberto pauses. Finally, he said it out loud.

The grotesque thought that's been plaguing them all. He expects a fight. He expects people to get up and walk out. But nobody budges. Nobody so much as whispers. Except for the sound of the wind now howling outside. The fuselage is quiet. Roberto continues his speech. He draws on his medical background to give a clinical explanation of what is happening to their bodies as they starve.

He then tells his friends, "If we don't eat, we're choosing to die." Next, he makes his religious argument. If God doesn't want them to live, then they would have died in the crash. It is their duty to God to remain alive. Choosing not to eat is suicide, and suicide is a sin. It all seems clear in his mind, but he wonders what his friends are thinking. No one has said a word.

Then Marcelo Perez, the team captain and most devout of all the old Christians, gets to his feet. "I believe that God has chosen us to survive, but I don't believe he wants us to eat our friends. He will show us another way." Roberto starts to answer, but Nando cuts him off. "The bodies lying outside are no longer our friends. Their souls have left them. They are carcasses. They are meat like the cattle we eat back home."

Next, Gustavo Zurbino chimes in. "If I were to die, I'd want my body to keep you alive. How many of you feel the same?" Roberto scans the group. Most heads are nodding. Soon, another boy calls out that he too would want to nourish his friends. Then another, and another. Roberto senses the tide turning. He feels hopeful. But not everyone agrees, and the conversation continues on through the afternoon.

Finally, Liliana Maytall speaks up. She's the only remaining female survivor and a longtime fan of the old Christians. "I won't eat another human being. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. I just can't." Liliana's husband, Javier, takes her hand and agrees with her. Then, from the back of the plane, someone else raises a different objection. "What I want to know is who will do the cutting? Who will cut the flesh from our dead friends' bodies?"

Roberto looks around the room. This time, no one makes eye contact, not even Nando. He walks over to the suitcase where he keeps his medical supplies, then reaches inside and pulls out a shard of glass he uses for cutting bandages. At the door to the fuselage, he stops and turns. I will do it. Solemnly, Fido and Gustavo stand up and follow him outside.

Roberto trudges through the snow to the makeshift graveyard, where the bodies are buried. Part of one corpse protrudes from the snow, but its face is hidden. That makes it easier. In silence, he begins to cut. Half an hour later, Roberto and his assistants return to the fuselage with thin strips of meat in their hands. No one will make eye contact with them. Roberto knows that if his friends are going to eat, he will have to set an example.

He takes a piece of the ice-cold flesh in his hand and raises it to his mouth. At first, his revulsion wins out. His hand falls back down to his side. "If you don't eat, you will die," he tells himself. He asks God to give him the strength of his convictions. Then he tries again. He shuts his eyes, pushes the flesh past his lips, and swallows.

Afterwards, he feels no guilt. If anything, he feels proud and thankful. With God's help, he has conquered an ancient superstition. He knows now that he will live for as long as it takes to get off this mountain.

Marcelo Perez wakes up on the morning of the 11th day on the mountain. It was a miserable night of sleep. His clothes are hardened with frost. But somehow, Marcelo still takes pride in getting up first. He's the leader. And as team captain, he feels it's his responsibility to keep the teammates motivated.

That's why he spent the past week assigning different tasks to different team members. Even little chores like organizing the fuselage and airing out the blankets help to keep everyone feeling as if they have a purpose. And a purpose is a drive to survive. All they need to do is hold out until the rescue mission comes.

Marcelo glances over to where Roberto and Gustavo are sleeping. He half expects to find them sick, writhing in pain. Who knows what eating human flesh will do to a person? But everyone who chose to eat the meat yesterday is still sleeping, or at least trying to. Marcelo rises from his cushions and shakes the shoulder of Roy Harley. Get up, Roy. It's time to set up the radio.

Marcelo has been waking up Roy every morning and leading him out into the snowfield. Together, they tune into the transistor radio Marcelo found in the wreckage. It's not much, but with a couple of homemade antennas, Roy is able to hear a station or two through the static. It's only been soccer scores and weather reports so far, but Marcelo is praying they'll hear some news about the search for the old Christians.

Roy groans and rolls over on the seat cushion he's been using as a pillow. It's too cold. Get someone else. It's your job, Roy. You're the only one who knows how to do it. You're good at it. Come on. Marcelo jumps down out of the fuselage, then turns back to make sure Roy is following behind him. Nando and another player are already outside waiting to make the trek. The sun is beginning to peek through the clouds, and Marcelo savors the warmth.

He picks up the antenna and walks out to the area a few yards from the plane where they've been able to get the best reception. Finally, Roy appears carrying the little radio. He sits down and starts fiddling with the dials. Marcello watches as Roy scrolls. He doesn't hear anything promising at first, but then suddenly Roy finds a station and holds the radio close to his ear.

Marcelo strains to hear what the radio is picking up, but there's so much static, he can barely hear a man speaking in a flat, business-like tone. He calls out, "Roy, what is it? What did he say?" Roy looks up and shakes his head. Marcelo can see he's already crying. They're suspending the search. They're abandoning us. Marcelo falls to his knees. All he can do is cover his face with his hands and scream.

His cry echoes off the rocks and the other men stay frozen in place. This whole time he's felt so certain that rescuers were on their way. And now he knows they're not. One of the other boys runs out of the plane towards them. He must have heard Marcelo's screams. As soon as he sees their faces, he understands what has happened. Who is going to tell the others?

Marcello looks at the silly antennas he's holding in his hands. How foolish to think that the outside world cared about them. He throws them to the ground and takes a deep breath. He doesn't want to let the others feel the depths of hopelessness that are washing over him. I don't think we should tell the others. If we're all going to die, we can at least let them go on hoping till the end. The boy shakes his head. We have to let them know. Marcello slumps down into the snow.

I can't tell them. I can't bear it. Marcelo feels the boy staring at him for a moment. Then, the boy shrugs and turns to Nando. In the distance, another group is headed toward them. Marcelo can't even bring himself to stand. He simply looks on as Nando and the boy make their way toward the fuselage and the other group. Marcelo's head falls into his hands as he hears them yell up to the plane. They've called off the search.

Marcelo hears crying in the distance and he hears Nando shouting, "Now we don't have to wait anymore. We're getting out of here on our own." Marcelo collapses into the snow and finally allows himself to weep. He can feel the tears freezing to his face. His shoulders heave and he gasps for air. Everything he's done in the past 11 days has been for nothing. There's no way to make it off this mountain. No one is coming for them.

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The airplane protects them from the wind, but it's still viciously cold. Some of the boys start talking about making plans and leaving in a few days. But the idea of wasting any more time makes Nando furious. He jumps up. "I've made my plans already. I'm leaving now. I'm climbing over the mountain to the west." Gustavo Zerbino quietly tells him to calm down, but Nando is too angry to listen.

Nando starts rummaging through the stores in the fuselage. He's looking for extra pairs of gloves and blankets. He grabs anything useful he can find and stuffs it into a bag. But then he feels a hand on his shoulder. It's Marcelo.

It's been less than an hour since they heard the news about the search, but his team captain already looks smaller. Marcelo used to throw his shoulders back with strength and confidence. Now he looks stooped, defeated. He speaks to Nando softly. Whatever you do, Nando, remember to think of the good of the team. Don't waste yourself. The rest of us still need you. Nando's rage drains out of him. Marcelo is right.

He puts his bag on the floor and sits down. Gustavo comes over and pats him on the back. Thank you, Nando. But you're right. Sooner or later, we're going to have to climb to look for rescue. But we have to be smart about it. I think we should do another scouting mission.

Nando watches as the other boys murmur an agreement. So he listens as Gustavo lays out the plan. They'll need to be back before the sun goes down. But he thinks if they leave soon, they can make it. He asks for volunteers. Numa Tarkati raises his hand. He went on the first scouting mission. Nando knows it's smart for him to go. Then Daniel Maspones raises his hand. Yesterday, he helped Roberto cut the meat. Not an easy task. But he's going to do it.

Nando takes some comfort in knowing that if he can't go on the scouting mission, at least some of the bravest ones will be going in his place. It only takes an hour for them to gather everything the three boys need for the climb. They each take a pair of snowshoes made out of the airplane's seat cushions. Marcelo gives them sunglasses made from the tinted plastic sun visors in the plane's cockpit. Nando helps them look through the rest of the salvage supplies, but they can't find much to keep them warm.

He hands Gustavo a sweater, and Gustavo pulls it on over his lightweight shirt. He looks to Nando before speaking. Pray for us. Nando sits on the edge of the fuselage as the three boys head out for the summit to the west. He watches them hike until they turn into tiny specks. They look like ants climbing a mountain. Then they disappear. Nando and the others sit and look for hours, wondering when they will appear again. But the light starts fading.

and the three still aren't back. By the time the sun disappears entirely, it's too cold for Nando and the other boys to keep watch. They retreat back into the plane. The hours tick by late into the night. Then the winds pick up and starts blowing snow into the plane. Nando begins to imagine what would have happened if he had left earlier, all alone on the mountain. He was so determined. Gustavo was right. He'd probably be dead by now.

He can't help but wonder if Gustavo has taken his place. Gustavo Zurbino huddles behind a small outcropping of rocks, trying to escape the wind. It's an indescribable cold here on the mountain, as painful as fire. So cold that he and his climbing partners take turns punching and slapping each other in the arms to keep their blood going. If they don't, they'll freeze where they sit.

They're just over halfway to the peak, but the sun went down hours ago. They all agreed that if they turned back for the fuselage, the entire scouting trip would have been for nothing. So they chose to spend the night on the mountain, and now they're paying for it. Gustavo knows if they sleep, they'll die. He can feel his skin starting to freeze. But then he notices that over the edge of the mountains, the sky is starting to warm into a cool blue.

They've made it to morning. When the sun is fully visible over the peak, Gustavo steps over the windbreak he's been hiding behind and lifts his head. He pounds his chest and shakes out his legs. Little by little, his skin starts to thaw. Soon, he can feel his blood flowing again. But Gustavo's clothes are soaked through from the snowstorm. He strips down and starts to wring the water out of his pants, shirt, and socks.

The other boys do the same and lay them out on a rock to dry out. But after an hour or so, the sun dips behind a cloud. They have no option but to put their damp clothes back on and begin to climb toward the peak again. After a few hours, Numa yells out that he can see the summit. The end is in sight. Gustavo watches as Numa moves excitedly ahead of him, then stops in his tracks. Gustavo, come look at this.

Gustavo moves as fast as he can to join him. "What is it, Numa? Tell me." But before Numa can answer, he sees it. What they thought was the summit is in fact just a stony ridge. And the ridge has blocked not only their view of the actual summit, but their view of the endless mountains beyond it. Mountains that extend as far as the eye can see.

They're deep in the Andes, surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Not a living thing in sight, just a maze of stone and ice. It's impossible to tell which direction might lead them out of it. Gustavo's about to suggest they head back, but Numa claps him on the shoulder. Just a little further, maybe we can find the tail section. That would make this journey worth it.

Despite his upset, Gustavo knows that Numa's right. The tail of the plane might hold more food, clothing, or batteries for the radio. And any of those discoveries would make the scouting expedition less punishing. So, with what little strength they have left, they continue to climb. An hour later, Gustavo sees Numa lean over and pick up a large piece of crumpled metal.

Behind Numa, Daniel stands hunched over a long, twisted hunk of aluminum that could have only come from one of the Fairchild's wings. He knows they're getting close. A little farther on, Gustavo spots a seat from the Fairchild, laying face down in a pile of snow. When Daniel and Numa help him lift it up, they find a body strapped to it. The face is blackened beyond recognition. The hair singed.

Gustavo realizes he must have been burned by fuel escaping from the engine. Gustavo shuts his eyes and bows his head, while Numa recites a prayer. He tries to follow what Numa is saying, but he can't concentrate. Memories of his time on the mountain keep flashing through his mind. He sees himself digging a shallow grave in the snow, eating human flesh, and shivering from a cold that he sure will shatter his bones.

For a moment, he's back in the plane, just before it crashed, hurtling through space, helpless. He opens his eyes and gasps out a single word as Numa finishes the prayer. "Amen." Any hope that others had managed to survive outside the fuselage is gone. Gustavo peers up at the summit, then turns back to Numa and Daniel. They can't see the rest of the plane, and they can't risk spending another night on the mountain.

It's time to head down. The others nod and turn to start climbing back, but Daniel stops them all. We shouldn't tell the others what we've seen, how hopeless this is. Gustavo quickly agrees, but then he sighs. Even if they don't tell the others what they've seen, the scouting mission has still failed. They didn't find the plane. They didn't find a route to safety. There's no way that the entire group will ever be able to hike out.

But Gustavo doesn't say any of this. He just links arms with the other boys and begins to hobble down the mountain toward the fuselage. He says a small prayer that they make it back without incident. But he knows there are no guarantees on the mountain. Nando paces the fuselage restlessly. It's been more than 24 hours, and there's still no sign of the scouting team. You can hear the rest of the boys debating what might have happened to them.

Maybe they found some shelter. There's no shelter on that mountain. They'll make it back. We have to have faith. Suddenly, Nando hears a low groan coming from the corner of the plane. It's Marcelo. He's sobbing, rocking back and forth with his head in his hands. Ever since they heard that the search was called off, Nando's been disturbed at how broken he seems. Nando has been watching his team captain play rugby since he was in grade school. He's a hero.

But right now, Nando doesn't see any heroism in him. He listens as Marcelo mumbles. "'This is all my fault, Nando.' "'What's your fault?' "'Everything. I chartered the plane. I organized the match. I've killed you all.' "'That's not true, Marcelo. You didn't persuade my mother and sister to come. I did that. And now they're dead. That's not my fault either. It's no one's fault the plane fell.'

Marcelo shakes his head and continues to cry. But Nando just looks on. He has nothing to say to him. It's like he's looking at a different person, someone he doesn't know. And then he hears yelling from outside the fuselage. Something is moving above the ridge. Nando rushes out and stares at the mountain. And then he sees it. Three black dots on the faraway snow. They're alive! They're alive!

Nando starts jumping up and down, and the rest of the boys do too. They start cheering them on, just like they were standing on the sidelines of a rugby match. "Vamos, Gustavo! Come on, Numa! You can do it, Daniel!" It takes two hours for the three boys to move all the way down the slope. But when Gustavo and the others stumble into the fuselage, the mood of celebration suddenly falls. They don't look good.

All of them look as if they've seen ghosts, and Gustavo's eyes won't stop streaming tears. Nando asks him what happened, and Gustavo responds without looking him in the eyes. I've nearly gone blind. The glare on the snow, the sun was so strong. Nando watches as Roberto sits Gustavo and the others down on cushions. He then wraps a t-shirt around Gustavo's eyes to shade them. They take turns rubbing their feet, trying to warm them.

Nando can't help himself. He starts peppering Gustavo with questions. "What did you see up there? Did you see beyond the peaks? Could you see any green?" Gustavo shakes his head. "The peaks are too high, and all you see are other peaks. There might have been something yellowish, brownish between the two mountains, but I don't know. It was very narrow." Nando tries to hide how deflated he feels. This is not the news he wanted to hear.

He glances over at Marcelo, who is sitting alone, staring into space. Nando understands the truth now. Marcelo has given up. At the end of the night, Nando stands and goes to lie down on the cushions. As he falls asleep, his mind races. It seems they have a much longer climb than he was hoping, and he has no idea how they will survive it. But Nando is certain of one thing. Now that Marcelo has thrown in the towel,

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Liliana Maytal sits on the fuselage with her husband Javier, holding his hand and giving him sips of water. Liliana and Javier are the two oldest survivors, at 35 and 38. They are avid fans of the old Christians, but the trip to Santiago was also meant to be a romantic getaway. With four young kids, it's rare that the couple gets a chance to enjoy one another's company.

They both survived the crash unscathed, but Javier has been suffering from severe altitude sickness. He's constantly dizzy and has trouble remaining awake for more than a few hours at a time. Liliana sticks by his side, day and night, making sure that he stays hydrated. But Liliana knows that dehydration and altitude aren't Javier's only problems. He's growing weak with hunger, and so is she.

They're the last of the survivors who refuse to eat the dead. As a fervent Catholic, she has no doubt that eating human flesh is a sin against God. Liliana looks up and sees Fido Strouch entering the fuselage, carrying what she knows is a tray of meat. She holds up a hand as he approaches. "I told you, Fido, I don't blame anyone, but I won't jeopardize my eternal soul."

Fido sets the tray on the ground and sits beside her. He is a gentle and soft-spoken boy, and Liliana knows that his concern is genuine. Think of it as communion. Christ gives his body so that we might have spiritual life. Our friends have given us their bodies so that we can continue to live here on Earth. And you need to live for the sake of your children. Liliana bows her head. Is it possible that God himself sent Fido to convince her?

She desperately wants to believe this is true, but it's a decision she can't make on her own. She turns to her husband, who is staring at the tray. "God wants us to eat, Liliana." Liliana and Javier hold out their cupped hands, and Fido gives them each their daily portion. They swallow it and say a prayer with tears in their eyes.

That night, Liliana lies between Javier and Nando Parado on the floor of the fuselage. She's wide awake. She talks to Nando and whispers because Javier is already sleeping. How are you, Nando? Does your head feel any better? Much better. Just a little headache now.

Nando says that he is glad she and Javier have started eating, and Liliana nods. She feels certain that God wants them to live. God wants all of the survivors to live. She smiles and pats Nando on his arm before continuing. "We can't understand God, Nando. We can only love him." The two speak for a little while longer, but then Liliana can feel herself getting tired.

Even in the painful cold, she can sleep. Her body demands it. So she rolls over and starts to drift off. In the space between sleeping and waking, Liliana hears an unfamiliar rumble. Is she dreaming? Then something knocks the wind out of her. She tries to cry out, but her mouth and nose are now buried deep in freezing snow. Terror sets in when she realizes what has happened. An avalanche has buried her alive.

She's certain it swallowed the plane. Her thoughts go immediately to Javier. She wants to go to him, but she can't move. The weight is simply too much, and it's getting harder to breathe. Nando can't move. He can't even raise a finger. His mouth is packed tight with snow, and he's sure that the weight bearing down on his chest will crush him.

But he isn't afraid. If anything, he feels calmer than he's ever felt before in his life. He thinks, so this is my death. This is how it ends. He is ready. He is curious to know what, if anything, lies on the other side. But then he feels a hand shoveling the snow from his face. After a few violent gasps, he's breathing again. He hears Carlitos Paez shouting down at him. Who is that?

It's me, Nando. He hears Fido yelling in the background. Dig for the faces. For a few frantic moments, Nando lies buried up to his neck in the snow, listening to the chaos around him. People are shouting over one another so that he can only pick out the occasional phrase. Help me. Where's Marcelo? Please, please, find him early on. Moments later, Nando's teammates dig him out and lift him up.

He's confused by the shadows flickering across the fuselage. He looks around and sees Carlitos holding up a cigarette lighter, the only thing illuminating the dark space. Little by little, the scene comes into focus. The inside of the fuselage is filled with snow. Nando tries to stand, but realizes there isn't enough room. The snow has cut the distance between the floor and the ceiling of the cabin in half.

In the flickering light of Carlito's lighter, Nando sees his teammates frantically digging for others buried in the avalanche. Next to him, he sees a boy lying with his arms and legs spread like a snow angel. It's Daniel Maspones, the old Christian player who made the last attempt up the mountain. The tension and worry are gone from Daniel's face. Nando knows instantly he's dead. On the other side of him, Nando sees Javier sobbing,

He's cradling Liliana in his arms. She's gone too. It seems just like moments ago they were talking. Nando remembers what she told him. We can't understand God. We can only love him. For a moment, Nando sits lost, wondering, why them? Why not me? Then he hears Roberto barking at him to help dig. Others are still buried.

He crawls over to the spot where he remembers Marcelo Perez was sleeping and begins clearing away snow with his hands. His chest aches from the impact of the avalanche and his entire body is numb from the cold. But he keeps going until he sees his captain's face staring up at him. But he's too late. Marcelo is dead. And it's clear that it's too late for anyone who hasn't already been freed.

By the time Nando and the others have finished digging, there are seven dead bodies in the fuselage, the bodies of their friends. And Nando knows that the danger hasn't passed. At the back of the cabin, a solid wall of snow now blocks their path. There's no telling how big the avalanche was or how deep the Fairchild lies buried. They're trapped. Nando Parado sits in the dark with his knees pulled to his chest.

He's breathing hard, but he can't seem to get any air into his lungs. At first, he thinks it's physical exhaustion. Digging on all fours with his bare hands has left every part of his body sore, not to mention being buried in an avalanche. But then he realizes that his lungs aren't the problem. When the snow enveloped the Fairchild, it cut off their air supply. All around him in the darkness, he can hear his friends coughing and wheezing.

Two hours have passed since the avalanche hit. If they can't dig their way out soon, they'll suffocate. Nando begins to panic as he realizes that he has no idea how deeply they are buried. Is there a foot of snow covering the plane's roof? A dozen feet? Thirty? More? Then his panic turns to anger.

He won't allow himself to feel helpless. He refuses to believe that they've fought this long only to have the fuselage become their tomb. Nando calls out for Carlitos to flick his cigarette lighter back on. In the dim light, he spots an aluminum cargo pole sticking out of the snow near the cockpit door. He crawls over to it and pulls it free.

then sinks into a deep squat and begins thrusting the pole's tip against the ceiling. He strikes again and again with all of the force he can muster. The sound of metal on metal is deafening. He manages to make a dent, but nothing more. Gustavo Zurbino shakes his head. It won't work, Nando. The snow on top is too heavy. But Nando ignores him.

He's not going to die like this. He's not going to sit around and watch his friends die. He grits his teeth and gives the ceiling another hard blow. This time, the dent splits open. Nando uses all the power in his legs to force the pole up through the Fairchild's roof. Then he keeps pushing until he feels the resistance give.

Roughly three quarters of the pole remains inside the fuselage, which means they're buried under no more than a few feet of snow. When he yanks the pole back down, fresh air begins to flow into the fuselage. Gustavo leans over and puts an arm around him. You just saved our lives, Nando. I saved my own life. Now let's try to sleep. We'll have to dig our way out in the morning. He crawls back to his space and shuts his eyes.

But sleep is impossible. It's as though the mountain has delivered its starkest warning to Nando. I can take any of you, anytime I want. Marcelo, his team captain who taught him so much about teamwork, is now lying at the bottom of a pile of corpses, just 10 feet away. His mother and sister are gone forever. Nando does his best to fight back tears. The mountain has taken too many people.

so he makes a vow. He won't let it take him, not without a fight. In the morning, Nando sits up and looks around the fuselage. Pale light filters in through the Fairchild's snow-covered windows. Most of the others are awake too, but nobody speaks. Nobody wants to break the silence. Nando understands why. Silence is a kind of denial.

Talking will make the avalanche real. It will make the deaths of their eight friends real. With Marcelo gone, Nando decides it's time to take the lead. All right, it's time to get to work. Let's start by looking for anything we can use to dig.

While the others search the overhead compartments for makeshift tools, Nando looks for possible escape routes. The snow at the back of the plane is densely packed and seemingly impenetrable. But he notices that the light coming through the windows is brighter towards the front of the plane. He directs the survivors to the front.

Snow has buried the cockpit door up to the handle, and there's only enough room in the front of the plane for one of them to dig at a time. So Nando volunteers to go first. The others form a chain behind him, using their hands to pass the loosened snow to the back of the plane. Nando has them rotate positions every 15 minutes. Hours later, it's Gustavo who finally clears away the last bit of snow and opens the cockpit door.

He climbs past the dead pilots and pushes against the center pane of the windshield. But the snow on the other side of the glass is too heavy. It won't budge. He calls down for help. Nando scrambles into the cockpit to join him. On the count of three, one, two, pushing with all of their strength, they manage to pop the window from its frame. Snow tumbles into the cockpit, followed by slanted gray sunlight.

When he pokes his head through the window, he can't believe what he sees: a raging blizzard. He slams his fist against the roof of the cockpit. He swears under his breath and thinks that the crisis won't stop coming. Just like the avalanche was followed by a blizzard, the blizzard will be followed by something else he can't yet imagine. The only way to break the cycle is to leave this place.

And at that moment, he resolves. The next chance he gets, he will climb. He will turn his back on this hateful mountain and escape. This is the second episode of our four-part series, Plane Crash in the Andes. A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on historical research.

If you'd like to learn more about this event, we highly recommend the book Alive by Pierce Paul Reed. I'm your host, Cassie DePeckel. Chris Narosny wrote this episode. Edited by Matt Wise and Maura Waltz. Audio engineer is Sergio Enriquez. Sound design is by Joe Richardson. Music by Isabel Hirschman. Production coordinator is Desi Blaylock.

Produced by Brian White, Matt Olmos, Emily Frost, and Alita Rosansky. Managing Producer is Matt Gant. Senior Managing Producer is Ryan Lohr. Senior Producer is Andy Herman. Executive Producers are Jenny Lara Beckman, Stephanie Jens, and Marsha Louis for Wondery.

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