Considered Eating Pilot To Survive Freezing Temperatures

The nine survivors of the downing of a Patagonia Airlines Cessna 208 in Chile considered resorting to cannibalism to survive five days in freezing temperatures waiting to be rescued, according to news reports.

The Guardian reports the turboprop aircraft was 10 minutes out from landing in the village of La Junta, when it impacted a mountain near the Argentine border June 7.

"We were flying in very bad conditions," passenger Jose Miguel Almonacid said. "There was rain and sleet. Suddenly, we went into a cloud and when we came out, we were in front of the mountain.

"I managed to scream 'watch out' when I heard the explosion."

All 10 persons onboard survived the initial impact... but the plane's pilot, Nelson Bahamondes, died two days later from blood loss.

"He had a cut on his head, a big wound and he lost lots of blood," said Chilean police officer Victor Suazo, who was among the survivors. "We couldn't do anything for him and he died around noon on Monday."

The group had a limited supply of food... and no apparent prospects for rescue. With supplies dwindling, discussion turned to whether the group should eat the pilot.

"We thought about the pilot, I don't know how to say it ... to feed ourselves from him," Suazo said. "We thought about this, but some people were not in agreement because the situation was already so extreme."

It apparently didn't come to that, however. Rescue crews located the survivors Wednesday. None of the survivors had serious injuries, though four were taken to Puerto Raul Marin to be checked out by doctors.

FMI: www.patagoniaairlines.cl/index.php