Roberto Canessa

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Roberto Canessa (b. January 17, 1953, Montevideo, Uruguay) was one of the sixteen survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 which crashed in the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972, and is also a Uruguayan political figure.

Contents 1 October 13, 1972 Air Crash 2 Subsequent career 3 Candidate for President of Uruguay 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] October 13, 1972 Air Crash

At the time of the accident, Canessa was 19 years old and a medicine student. His fianceé was Laura Surraco, daughter of a doctor.

It was Canessa who suggested to his fellow survivors that in order to stay alive, they should eat the flesh of the deceased victims of the crash. Along with Fernando Parrado, he spent ten days trekking through the Andes in search of help for the survivors.

[edit] Subsequent career

After the rescue, Canessa recounted how his drive to escape from the mountains was fueled by the thought of his mother and his girlfriend. He did, in fact, marry Laura Surraco. The couple have two sons and a daughter.

He works as a cardiologist and motivational speaker.

Canessa was portrayed by Josh Hamilton in the film Alive: Miracle in The Andes.

[edit] Candidate for President of Uruguay

Canessa was a candidate in the 1994 Uruguayan presidential elections, but lost to the former President, Julio María Sanguinetti Coirolo, who successfully stood again.

[edit] See also

• Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
• Nando Parrado
• Alive: 20 Years Later
• Alive: Miracle in The Andes

[edit] External links

This text is based on the Roberto Canessa article on the Spanish Wikipedia, a resource licensed under the GFDL.