Roberto Canessa

About

Best known as a survivor of the October 13, 1972 crash of the Uruguayan Air Force's Flight 571, this hero spent over a week searching for help in the Andes mountains while, at his suggestion, his fellow crash survivors stayed alive by cannibalizing the corpses of the air disaster's victims. 

Before Fame

At the time of the doomed flight, he was a medical student and a recent graduate of Stella Maris College in Montevideo, Uruguay. 

Trivia

After surviving the crash, he became both a motivational speaker and a cardiologist. He has accumulated more than 280,000 followers on his robertojcanessa Instagram page. 

Family Life

His marriage to Laura Surraco resulted in children named Roberto Martin, Laura Ines, and Hilario. 

Associated With

In 1994, he ran for the Uruguayan presidency but was defeated by Julio Maria Sanguinetti.