Latest news with #Omayra
Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Tragic final words of girl trapped in cement-like mud for 60 hours as eyes turned black
A school girl was left to die half buried under the wreckage of her family home after a devastating landslide left her trapped for an agonising 60 hours A school girl uttered a heartbreaking plea as she resigned to her devastating fate, half buried in the wreckage of her family home. Omayra Sánchez Garzón was just 13-years-old when she died in a landslide caused by the 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Armero, Tolima in Colombia. Terrifying volcanic lava mixed with ice - known as lahar - flooded into the river valleys below the mountain and towards villages. A wall of the cement-like mud obliterated Omayra's home. In total, about 25,000 people died with a total of 14 villages destroyed. Young Omayra was trapped underneath the lahar from the waist down and remained in the water for three days. Rescue workers worked desperately to help her escape but it soon became apparent that they would not be able to give her the life-saving care she neeeded if they were to amputate her legs and free her. The teen's calm demeanor transformed into complete agony as her eyes turned black, and relief workers, photographers and journalists all took it in turns to comfort her during her final moments, bringing her fizzy drinks and sweets. Her tragic struggle captivated people across the world as they watched the horror unfold on television screens. Harrowing videos and images of Omayra made international news. Omaya's final words are said to have been caught on camera, after Colombian news channel RCN aired a video of her with bloodshot eyes as she stayed stuck in the doomed water, the Daily Mail reports. Addressing her family, Omayra heartbreakingly said: "Pray so that I can walk, and for these people to help me. Mummy, I love you very much, daddy I love you, my brother, I love you." Omayra lived in the Santander neighbourhood with her parents Álvaro Enrique, a rice and sorghum collector, and María Aleida, along with her brother Álvaro Enrique and aunt María Adela Garzón. On the night of the disaster, the family lay awake, worrying about the impending eruption and volcanic ash. Suddenly, they heard the rush of the approaching lahar and it quickly hit the concrete home. Omayra was trapped under the roof, and was only discovered when her hand was able to squeeze through a crack and was spotted by a rescue worker. Despite their attempts to pull her out, there was nothing they could do. Each time a person pulled her, the water pooled around her, rising so that it seemed she would drown if they let her go, so rescue workers placed a tire around her body to keep her afloat. By the third night she was hallucinating and mentioned not being late for school for her math exam. Near the end of her life, her eyes reddened, her face swelled, and her hands whitened. While her brother survived the lahars; her father and aunt died. Her mother, who was away in Bogota for business at the time of the eruption, said after her daughter's death: "It is horrible, but we have to think about the living... I will live for my son, who only lost a finger."
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Tragic footage shows heartbreaking final moments of little girl trapped in volcanic mudflow
Warning: This article contains content some readers may find upsetting One of the most haunting images ever captured is that of Colombian teenager Omayra Sánchez Garzón trapped in volcanic mudflow in the final moments of her life. The 1985 Nevado del Ruiz stratovolcano eruption killed over 22,000 people from the surrounding area, triggering pyroclastic flows which set off mudflows and landslides that spread across nearby towns. One of the victims of these mudflows was 13-year-old Omayra who was trapped in a puddle of water by debris with her head above the surface but unable to make it out. Rescuers could not free her from where she was stuck, but people kept bringing her food and water as they hoped for her survival. People were able to get a tyre around her in order to keep her head above the water but they did not have the equipment it would have taken to get the teen out of the debris and out of the water. The image of Omayra trapped was taken by photojournalist Frank Fournier, whose photo showed that her eyes had turned black during her ordeal. During her time in the water she spoke to people around her and sang songs, but in her final hours of life she started to hallucinate, telling the people who stayed with her that she needed to get to a maths exam. She died on 16 November, three days after the volcano erupted, believed to be either of hypothermia or gangrene. Her last words were caught on camera by people around her who had the means to record her final moments but not the means to rescue her. She said: "Mommy, I love you so much, daddy I love you, brother I love you." Several rescue attempts had been made to help the girl before they realised they couldn't do it and instead focused on making her as comfortable as possible. After her death when divers were eventually able to get into the water they found that her legs were trapped by what had been the roof of a building, and the arms of her aunt's body were holding onto her. Years later, Fournier spoke of the photo he took of the 13-year-old. He said: "For three nights and three days - stuck in a pool of sewage water at the bottom of small hill, lay crushed under layers upon layers of fallen wall, a voice was to speak in the name of 28 thousand. "It was a voice of an ordinary little girl who will cross land and time, and will bounce and pierce the heart of millions of people. "A commanding dignity, a stunning courage and a relentless kindness during this oppressive and painful hour reveals more than ever the magnitude of every single individual."
