My plane crashed in the Andes. Only the unthinkable kept me and the other starving survivors alive

‘I remember the clear, beautiful faces of my friends’ … Nando Parrado and fellow survivor Carlos Páez Rodríguez greeted by Páez’s father. Photograph: Sipa/Shutterstock

All Nando Parrado remembers is a deep black hole and one recurring thought: “I’m dead. I’m dead. This is death. It’s so black that this is death.” Hours passed, maybe days. Then, a new thought: “I’m thirsty. I’m craving water. If I’m dead, I cannot crave water.”

His awareness increased. Why was it cold? Why did his head throb? Then, voices. Parrado opened his eyes.