Brazilian couple forced to go to extreme lengths to stay alive after being stranded for five days in blizzard

A Brazilian couple ate ice after running out of food while stranded in the middle of a blizzard in Chile.

Aurora Rodrigues, 59, and her husband Eraldo Rodrigues, 60, were reunited with their family Saafter they were rescued in the northern town of Acopiapó, near the border with Argentina.

'These were very difficult days, our faith was put to the test and so was our hope of returning,' Aurora told Brazilian news outlet G1. 'When we found ourselves in this situation, the only certainty we has was that we might not return.'

The couple's daughter-in-law, Cintia Martins, told the outlet that they left their Rio de Janeiro home August 2 and checked out of their hotel August 18.

Brazilian married couple Eraldo Rodrigues (left) and Aurora Rodrigues (right) spend five days trapped in an emergency shelter in northern Chile near the border with Argentina and had to eat ice after running out of food

Inside the emergency shelter in northern Chile where a Brazilian couple spent five days and had to feed themselves ice after running out of food 

Along the way Eraldo Rodrigues encountered poor 'visibility' on the road and lost control of the car.

'When he swerved to avoid something, he crashed and got stuck in the snow,' Martins said.

The couple placed a note in their car and made their way to an emergency shelter, where they planned to stay for the night and set up a tent with an arm mattress.

On the morning of August 19, Aurora and Eraldo walked back to where they had left their vehicle and found it buried in the snow.

'It was impossible to get out of there,' Martins said. 'They went to the car as soon as they could get out in the bad weather and cleared as much snow as possible. But the blizzard continued.'

The weather worsened with temperature dropping to -4 Fahrenheit at night. To keep their feet warm, Aurota and Eraldo placed bags between their sneakers and socks.

'On the second day, Eraldo started to fix the holes, as the blizzard brought a lot of snow into the shelter,' Martins said. 'Using some adhesive tape that he kept in his car, he made repairs to the shelter as much as possible. It wasn't enough, but it reduced the amount of ice that was getting in day and night.'

The Brazilian couple was forced to abandon their vehicle when they got into an accident and crashed August 18 in northern Chile while they were driving back home to Rio de Janeiro 

The Brazilian couple was found by a search and rescue team on Friday and reunited Saturday with their son and daughter-in-law

By the fourth day the couple had gone through the candy, cookies, apples and tuna fish cans they had rationed and began to eat ice.

'The water ran out,' Martins said. 'So, they ate ice to hydrate themselves. The gas in the stove also ran out. That was the limit.'

Concerned family members reported them missing last Thursday.

Aurora and Eraldo were found by a search and rescue team and reunited with their son and daughter-in-law on Saturday.

The couple was found to be in good health after undergoing a routine medical tests, and will extend their vacation to spend time with their son and daughter-in-law.