Title: I had to survive : how a plane crash in the Andes helped me to save lives /
Authors: Canessa, Roberto, 1953-; Frías, Carlos; Vierci, Pablo, 1950-
Year: 2017
Subjects: Canessa, Roberto,; Canessa, Roberto,; Canessa, Roberto,; Airplane crash survival Andes Region.; Aircraft accidents Andes Region.; Aircraft accident victims Uruguay Biography.; Heart surgeons Uruguay Biography.; Aircraft; Rescue Work; Surgeons; Accidents, Traffic; Survival; Aircraft accident victims; Aircraft accidents; Airplane crash survival; Heart surgeons; Uruguay; Andes Region; Uruguay
Abstract: AUTOBIOGRAPHY: GENERAL. On October 13, 1972, an Uruguayan air force plane carrying members of the Old Christians rugby team and many of their friends and family members crashed in the Andes mountains. I Had to Survive offers a gripping and heartrending recollection of the harrowing brink-of-death experience that propelled survivor Roberto Canessa to become one of the world s leading pediatric cardiologists. As he tended to his wounded teammates amidst the devastating carnage, rugby player Roberto Canessa, a second-year medical student at the time, realized that no one on earth was luckier: he was alive and for that, he should be eternally grateful. As the starving group struggled beyond the limits of what seemed possible, Canessa played a key role in safeguarding his fellow survivors, eventually trekking with a companion across the hostile mountain range for help. No one could have imagined that there were survivors from the accident in such extreme conditions.