Javier Alfredo Methol Abal (11 December 1935 – 4 June 2015) was a Uruguayan businessman and lecturer, known for being one of the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash in the Andes Mountains in October 1972.[1]
Javier Methol | |
|---|---|
| Born | Javier Alfredo Methol Abal 11 December 1935 Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Died | 4 June 2015 (aged 79) Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Spouse(s) |
Liliana Beatriz Navarro
(m. 1960; died 1972)Ana María Amorrortu (m. 1976) |
Biography
editFirst years
editHe was born in Montevideo in 1935 to an upper-middle class family of Basque-French and Galician descent.
After graduating from high school at the Elbio Fernández School, he started working at the Abal Hnos S.A. cigarette factory, which belonged to his mother's family.[2] At the age of 20, he moved to Cuba and the United States to become a technician in the tobacco industry. While in the United States, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and had to remain hospitalized there for five months before returning to Uruguay.[3]
Accident in the Andes
editHe was one of the 45 people who on October 13, 1972, boarded the Fairchild Hiller FH-227 of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, together with his wife Liliana Navarro. At the time of the accident he was 36 years old and had 4 children. In the accident, his cousin Francisco Panchito Abal, died of injuries he sustained in the crash. On the other hand, his wife Liliana Navarro, lost her life during the avalanche that also killed other initial survivors.[4] Within the community that lived at the Fairchild for more than 70 days, Javier Methol's mature figure allowed him to be one of the main leaders. The boys affectionately called him Dumbo.
Later life and death
editAfter his return to Uruguay following the crash in the Andes, he continued working at Abal Hnos S.A., being a member of the company's board of directors and manager of corporate affairs.[5] In 1979, it was acquired by the tobacco company Philip Morris International.[6] In addition, for several years he gave motivational lectures based on his survival experience.[7]
Methol passed away on June 4, 2015, at the British Hospital of Montevideo, at the age of 79. [8] The following day the wake was celebrated with a mass at the San José de la Montaña de Carrasco and a funeral procession was held to the Buceo Cemetery where his remains were buried.[9]
He was the founder and first president of the ¡Viven! Foundation in 2007.[10]
Personal life
editIn 1960 he married Liliana Beatriz Navarro, with whom he had four children: María Laura, Pablo Javier, Anna Inés and Marie Noel.[11]
After Navarro's death, four years later, he remarried Ana María Amorrortu from Argentina, with whom he had four more children: Guillermo Javier, Rafael Javier, Ignacio Javier and Ximena María.[12]
He was a cousin of Francisco Abal, who died during the accident.[13] He was a Catholic.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Falleció Javier Methol, sobreviviente de la tragedia de los Andes". El País. 5 June 2015.
- ^ "La empresa escondida detrás de una de las grandes preguntas de La sociedad de la nieve: su historia". www.cronista.com (in Spanish). 18 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Página/12 :: Ultimas Noticias :: Murió uno de los sobrevivientes de la tragedia de los Andes". www.pagina12.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Romero, Cristina (22 January 2024). "La verdadera historia de Liliana Navarro: la única mujer que sobrevivió al accidente de 'La sociedad de la nieve'". Forbes España (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Murió Javier Methol, el primer sobreviviente de la tragedia de los Andes". La Capital. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Philip Morris vs. Uruguay: todas las demandas desestimadas; Uruguay recibirá reembolso por US$7 millones – Investment Treaty News" (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Raiño, Walter Daniel (5 June 2015). "Murió el primero de los sobrevivientes de la Tragedia de Los Andes". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Redacción. "Falleció Javier Methol, uno de los sobrevivientes de la tragedia de los Andes". El Observador. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Tuvo revancha y vivió hasta los 80". EL PAIS. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Sobrevivientes de los Andes crean fundación de apoyo". EL PAIS. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Javier Methol: Businessman who survived for 72 days in the Andes after". The Independent. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Muere el primer superviviente de la tragedia de Los Andes". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 5 June 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Pardillos, Por David (9 January 2024). "Qué fue de los 16 supervivientes de 'La sociedad de la nieve': su vida tras el accidente en los Andes". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Vierci, Pablo (2008). La sociedad de la nieve. Montevideo: Planeta. p. 201. ISBN 978-9915-668-93-2.
Bibliography
edit- Piers Paul Read. «¡Viven!: La tragedia de los Andes.» Editor: Editorial Noguer (1974). ISBN 8427938284.
- De Piers Paul Read (2023). ¡Viven! El triunfo del espíritu humano: La verdadera historia de los protagonistas de La sociedad de la nieve, la nueva película de J. A. Bayona. Barcelona, Spain: B de Bolsillo. p. 448, pp. s/n. ISBN 978-84-1314-736-9.