It is 36 years since the death of Omayra Sánchez, the 12-year-old girl who was trapped in the mud after the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, in Colombia, and whose case went around the world and moved the population.
The girl passed away on November 16, 1985 after spending three days of agony trapped in the mud, the corpses of her relatives and the remains of his own home, while television cameras broadcast his last hours of life.
It was the night of November 13, 1985 when the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted and turned the snows on its top into water, which overflowed the river Lagunilla and caused tons of mud and stones to be directed with destructive force towards Armero, a prosperous agricultural town situated in a valley.
As a consequence, thousands of people were injured and more than 25,000 died, including Omayra Sánchez, a story that was especially tragic because the girl remained trapped in the mud for three days, while the military, health workers and first responders tried unsuccessfully to rescue her.
During that time, the little girl clung to life by clinging to a stick at the height of her head, since the rest of his body was buried in the mud. It was some soldiers from the Colombian air force who found Omayra and, to reach her and work to rescue her, they had to build a kind of bridge and remove debris from the houses that had been destroyed after the volcano erupted.
However, although they managed to free half of the minor’s body, her legs were trapped in the mud, so they could not remove her from the place. His agony was long and horrible, but his attitude to the situation was shocking, showing courage and strength at all times. Omayra even said to the rescue teams: “Go and rest for a while, and then come and get me out of here.”
Finally, after 60 hours in which his agony shook the world and was broadcast live on television cameras, the 12-year-old girl died accompanied by toilets and lifeguards. In that place, there is currently a symbolic tomb for the little one.
More than three decades later and with the place turned into an immense cemetery, the country relives the images of its greatest natural tragedy and one of the worst in America. The avalanche buried that population, where an estimated 4,000 people survived, many of which now reside in the neighboring towns of Lérida and Armero Guayabal.
Scientists warned of the possibility that Armero was destroyed by an avalanche
The possibility that Armero was destroyed by an avalanche was warned by Colombian and foreign scientists that in the previous months they had studied recent eruptions of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano and the direction in which its emissions of lava, ash or water vapor were moving.
In addition, residents of the area had also alerted the authorities weeks before the damming of the Lagunilla river, but the government of the time totally ignored these warnings that, had they been treated, would have led to an evacuation and reduced the number of victims, according to specialists.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
