Days turned into weeks. It was urgent, the survivors knew, to find a way to escape before others died. Three of the passengers—Roberto Canessa, Nando Parrado, and Antonio Vizintfn—volunteered to journey through the mountains to search for help. On the day of their departure, each man wore similar clothes: three pairs of socks, a plastic bag around each foot to keep the water out, boots, four pairs of pants, and four sweaters. Many of the clothes came from those who had died in the crash.