Coche inciarte biography examples

I should imagine that last-ditch survival through minor cannibalism might be a life-changing event. Commenting for this story is now closed. If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page! Categories: Politics , Uruguay , Chile. We dug like animals to rescue the others, but eight people died. We spent three days cramped into the fuselage.

Eventually we dug a tunnel towards the cockpit and escaped through a window. Seeing my friends emerging into clean, white snow after being buried for three days felt symbolic, like we had all been reborn. To avoid needing amputation I cut a deep cross in my foot with a razor blade to allow oxygen to the wound and so I could release the pus. From then on I was in too much pain to move and could barely eat.

I lost 45 kilos, half my body weight. But my friends brought me water each day and insisted I ate. Their story was told in the book Alive , but their bravery is not mine to recount. Instead I was one of the men waiting behind. But on the 22nd we heard help was coming. After 72 days, the sound of our rescue helicopters was the most beautiful music.

I felt such sweet relief when my rescuer threw me into the helicopter. Instead of dying, I spent 26 December drinking champagne with my 16 fellow survivors, reunited with my mother and Soledad.

Coche inciarte biography examples

Although 16 of us survived, many families from our neighbourhood of Carrasco in Uruguay were mourning loved ones who had died, so I waited a long time before I felt able to talk publicly about our experience. Eventually I started to give talks about it, sharing with others the incredible sacrifices we all made for one another. On that mountain I saw the very best of the human spirit, how we fought for one another against all the odds.

I learnt there that giving is the key to happiness. Although we had nothing, we gave everything for one another and I feel proud of that. That is not to say that he has never opened up about the same. The perspective provided by Coche is certainly valuable, especially given the hardships he faced in the Andes. Tragically, on July 27, , Coche passed away due to cancer.

This made him the second among the 16 survivors to pass away, given the passing of Javier Methol on June 4, In life, he was happily married to his beloved Soledad, and the two became parents of three children. His loss was not only felt keenly by his family but also by those who created an unbreakable bond with him during their harrowing time in the Andes.