Andes into Chile

Andes into Chile

Producer Kas Roussy has been sent to Santiago, Chile, to report on the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on Feb. 27. Here is an account of her journey through the Andes mountains from Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Soon after the earthquake struck Chile on Saturday, Feb. 27, the airport in the capital Santiago was closed due to structural damage.

Our assignment was to get into Chile, despite the airport closing. Based in Buenos Aires, we had to figure out an alternate route in.

It was decided that we would take the short flight north to Mendoza in Argentina's wine country, which borders Chile. We then rented a vehicle and took the drive through the magnificent Andes, across Argentina, crossing the border into neighbouring Chile.

The trip took about nine hours. The highway we took is called Highway 7 on the Argentinean side and the International Highway on the Chilean side.

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