Catalán read the note. By accounts of the rescue, he promised to return with help. He then rode for approximately ten hours — through the night, to the nearest settlement where he could contact authorities — to alert Chilean carabineros to what he had found.
He returned the next day, on December 21, with ten carabineros. Parrado and Canessa were taken to the town of Los Maitenes. Canessa, who had been heavier than Parrado at the time of the crash, weighed 44 kilograms at rescue. Both men were treated for dehydration, malnutrition, and the effects of prolonged cold exposure.
The rescue of the survivors at the crash site was organized immediately.
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## December 22 and 23: The Rescue
The Chilean Air Force mobilized three Bell UH-1 helicopters for the rescue operation. The challenge was practical and significant: the crash site was at over 3,600 meters in terrain that made helicopter operations difficult. The altitude reduced the helicopters’ lifting capacity. The valley was narrow. Weather conditions in the Andes in December were unpredictable.
Parrado agreed to serve as a guide, riding in one of the helicopters to identify the crash site from the air. He had spent 72 days in that valley and believed he could recognize the terrain from above.
On December 22, the helicopters flew toward the crash site with Parrado as guide. He spotted the fuselage. The helicopters descended.
The survivors at the fuselage had no way of knowing that rescue was coming. They had been waiting since Vizintín’s return on approximately December 15 with the knowledge that Parrado and Canessa were continuing west, and that if they reached help, rescuers might come. They had also known, without anyone saying it directly, that every day that passed without helicopters increased the probability that the trek had failed.