One of the survivors of the Andes tragedy will sell NFTs to support social causes in Uruguay

Gustavo Zerbino, a Uruguayan, is one of the sixteen survivors of the Tragedy of the Andes that occurred in 1972. He communicated through his Twitter account that he will start with a project to generate NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and, with the proceeds, he will collaborate with social causes such as the Los Tréboles Educational Center and the Nuestra Hijos library. Both projects are linked to the Old Christians club, to which both Zerbino belongs and to which those who died during the Tragedy belonged.

“Dear friends! This NFT project made with images representative of my experience in the Andes will allow us to support two causes that are very special to me: Los Tréboles Educational Center and Nuestra Hijos Library. You are welcome to join and collaborate too!” , he wrote on his personal Twitter account.

In the accounts generated from the NFT campaign, Zerbino shares screenshots of the digital works he has for sale on Open Sea, a platform where he has 507 uploaded and marketable elements. However, on the project's social networks it is declared that there are 500 historical documents, photographs of the time and words of Zerbino himself that can be purchased.

Although everything communicated is in English, Zerbino is presented on the sales platform as follows:

“I am Gustavo Zerbino, father of 6 children. I describe myself as a cheerful person, grateful to God and to life. We often plan our lives carefully and reality is responsible for altering it with totally unpredictable scenarios. Many know me as one of the 16 survivors of the tragedy of the Andes.

On October 13, 1972, I was traveling on a Uruguayan plane to Chile with 45 passengers, including my rugby partners, and I crashed in the Andes Mountains. We had to endure countless hardships, including extreme temperatures and hunger, until after several attempts, Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa crossed the mountain, and after 72 days we were rescued. After this moving experience I have tried to return to life, to all the opportunities it has given me. That is why today, I invite you to be part of this great initiative, acquiring one of these NFTs with fragments of this story of overcoming and gratitude. You will be collaborating with the Library of Our Children and Los Tréboles Education.”

Both projects are located in Montevideo, the country's capital.

The crash of the Fairchild FH-227D plane happened on the way it was flying from Montevideo to Santiago de Chile, on October 13, 1972. That event would later be known as the Tragedy of the Andes or the Miracle of the Andes.

According to the analysis after the accident, what happened was that the pilot in command mistakenly believed that they had arrived in Curicó, Chile, even though the readings of the instruments indicated otherwise. The aircraft began its descent too early, believing it arrived at Pudahuel Airport, when it hit a mountain.

Initially, the plane lost both wings and the tail section. The remaining part of the fuselage slid down the mountain for about 725 meters before hitting a glacier. Upstairs, 45 passengers and crew had been traveling, including 19 members of the Uruguayan rugby team Old Christians Club, along with their families and friends.

The remains were found at an altitude of 3,570 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains, on the Argentine side, but near the Chilean border. Three crew members and eight passengers died on impact and several others died due to extreme temperatures and injuries from the accident.

Despite the fact that the authorities began the search immediately, after eight days they canceled the efforts. The next 72 days lost in the Andes meant the death of 13 more passengers and the survivors had to resort to human flesh food.

Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, two of the passengers who survived the impact, climbed a 4,650-meter mountain peak above the sea without snow equipment and walked for 10 days to Chile, to find help. On December 23, 1972, 72 days after the accident, 16 survivors were rescued.

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