The Tragedy of Omayra Sánchez

Omayra Sánchez
Photo Credit: Frank Fournier

On November 13, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz, a highly active volcano in Colombia erupted, melting glaciers and sending torrents of mud and debris into the villages at its base.

Thirteen-year-old Omayra Sánchez, along with her family, was trembling in her home as one of these torrents literally wiped the town of Amero, where they lived, from the map.


Buried beneath the roof of her home, the trapped Colombian girl yelled for aid workers to free her from the muck. And they tried. But, unbeknownst to workers, Sánchez's legs were pinned beneath a brick door and being clutched tightly by one of her dead family members. There was no way to save Omayra Sánchez's life in the aftermath of the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption.

Omayra Sánchez was trapped for nearly 3 days after the quake, She chatted and joked with workers as they tried to save her life.

As the exposure began to overtake the young girl, and the reality she was going to die set in, Sánchez told her mother goodbye and asked workers to let her rest.


Rescuers – who repeatedly attempted to pull her from the rubble – discovered it was impossible to get her out without breaking or amputating her legs, and they did not have the necessary medical supplies to do so. And, each time they tried to save her, workers caused the water to raise around a little higher – until they had to put her body in a tire so she wouldn't drown.

As her skin turned white, her eyes reddened, and she began to hallucinate, relief workers decided the most humane course of action would be to let her die. Which she did, after being pinned beneath the rubble for nearly 60 hours.

Frank Fournier, a French photographer, captured Omayra Sánchez's last moments in a haunting photograph. Her eyes red, her hands white, in the photograph, Omayra Sánchez issues a haunting call to the world for help, help that would never come. Fournier won the 1986 World Press Photo of the Year for the image.