Kumari Shreya
Netflix’s ‘Society of the Snow,’ AKA ‘La Sociedad de la Nieve,’ has become well-known for shedding light on the finer details of the aftermath of the 1972 plane crash that saw the survivors trying their best to live in the Andes. Every member of the group gave it their all to hopefully be rescued soon, and while not all of them were able to make it through, those who did became well-known across the world. José Pedro Algorta is among the 16 who lived to tell the tale, which has naturally made him someone that people are interested in.
Who is José Pedro Algorta?
José Pedro Algorta was one of the 45 people aboard the ill-fated Flight 571 that departed Montevideo, Uruguay, on October 12, 1972. However, the very next day, when the plane tried to cross the Andes in order to reach Santiago, Chile, it crashed into the snowcapped mountains. The survivors of its tragic event included José Pedro Algorta, who was an economics student at the time and found himself stranded in a barren landscape with highly limited resources.
As days went by, Pedro and his fellow survivors tried to keep their determination alive. The news of the search for them to be called off after ten days was certainly demoralizing, but they all soldiered through in order to ensure that they returned home. While the act of resorting to cannibalism was certainly hard for many, it was the only way they saw that would allow them to continue living. After Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa successfully reached civilization, Pedro was rescued from the crash site on December 22, 1972.
Where is José Pedro Algorta Now?
Though a part of the final 16 who made it out alive chose to tell the tale of the aftermath of the 1972 plane crash, José Pedro Algorta chose to retain a low profile for the most part. In fact, for about three and a half decades, he opted not to speak about the incident publically. While those closest to him knew of the adversities he had faced in the Andes, Pedro remained primarily tight-lipped about his perspective of what went down in the mountains.
In the years following his life in the Andes, Pedro moved forward on the path of economics and held a bank job in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also got married and became a father of two. Additionally, Pedro retained a close bond with his fellow survivors, with the more public one being respectful of his decision to live away from the limelight. However, as the years went by, Pedro’s attitude seemed to change.
In fact, following the news that there were survivors in the aftermath of the 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Chile, Pedro flew to the country in order to help the survivors in any way possible. Given how the accident paralleled his own, it is understandable why Pedro chose to make a public stance on the same. He then went on to write a book on the 1972 crash from his own perspective. Said book was released on January 28, 2016, and was titled ‘Into the Mountains: The Extraordinary True Story of Survival in the Andes and its Aftermath.’
Read More: Roy Harley: Flight 571 Survivor is Now an Engineer
