Andes survivors mark 40th anniversary of plane crash
BY LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press October 13, 2012 11:52PM
Members of Uruguay's rugby team who survived a 1972 plane crash in the Chilean Andes observe a minute of silence Saturday after the unveiling of a plaque with pictures of those who died in the crash, in Santiago, Chile. | Luis Andres Henao~AP
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SANTIAGO, Chile — An Uruguayan rugby team has played a match that was postponed for four decades after its plane crashed in the Andes, stranding some members for more than two months and forcing them to eat human flesh to stay alive.
They squared off in Santiago on Saturday against the former Chilean rugby team they were to have played to mark the 40th anniversary of the crash made famous by a best-selling book and a Hollywood movie.
Officials unveiled a commemorative frame with pictures of those who died in the snowy peaks.
The Uruguayan air force plane that carried the team crashed in the cordillera in October 1972 while en route from Montevideo to Santiago. Only 16 of the 45 passengers aboard survived, by feeding on dead passengers preserved in the snow.
