At least 45 Chilean soldiers are believed be trapped in a blizzard that hit on Wednesday. The soldiers were on a yearly mountain military exercise on the Antuco volcano in southern Chile. Twenty-three bodies have been recovered so far while soldiers continue to brave miserable weather to search for the remaining twenty-two.
Army chief Gen. Juan Emilio Cheyre was quoted as saying, "Hope is the last thing we should lose. The weather report is very bad, horrible. We still have to find 22. We will not rest until we finish the task." Army officials privately admit that the missing soldiers are almost certainly dead for no one can survive in conditions that are presently prevailing in the Andes.
Meanwhile, families have begun the tragic process of burying those soldiers whose bodies have been recovered. Relatives are furious at the alleged negligence displayed by the commanding officers who disregarded weather warnings and led the soldiers to their death, Gloria Bastias, whose son Jonathan is one of those believed dead in the tragedy alleges, "My son and his companions were abandoned by the officers. They were coming down together in a group and people were falling. The officer just let 28 kids fall and went on to the shelter."
Edmundo Vivanco, uncle of 18-year-old Guillermo Foncea, another soldier who died screamed, "These are the heroes. The miserable villains are the officers that lived." The La Tercera newspaper was scathing in its editorial, "What hurts the most is that the death of dozens of youngsters was easily avoidable. Those in charge of the regiment did not heed the weather warning and walked into a fatal trap."
Army Commander in Chief Juan Cheyre has admitted that the officers led the soldiers into danger and blatantly disregarded all the rules, "There was negligence and imprudence," he said. Mr. Cheyre has dismissed the regiment's three top officers and ordered an internal military investigation into the incident. Most of those killed were teenage recruits from poor families, who had enlisted just a month ago.
Meanwhile, 112 soldiers who survived the storm were safely brought in a military helicopter to Los Angeles, 400 miles south of the capital, Santiago. "They are all in fine condition, none has medical problems," Cheyre said. These soldiers had sought refuge in a nearby mountain shelter when the blizzard struck.
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos expressed deep remorse at the heavy loss of life and said, "We are all sad for those Chilean young men who died in the mountain." He has declared a three-day national mourning. This incident has been termed as Chile's worst peacetime military tragedy.
