Warning: This article contains content some readers may find upsetting
Heartbreaking footage shows the last moments of a 13-year-old girl who became trapped following a deadly landslide.
Omayra Sánchez Garzón was just a little girl when she became the face of a disaster in 1985.
The photo taken of her has been etched into the memories of many who saw her stuck in the water, unable to get free to safety.
The 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Armero, saw around 25,000 people lose their lives, with 14 different villages devastated in Colombia.
This poor girl suffered for hours before eventually being taken by her injuries in the harrowing event.
But while you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking it was the lava flow that cause the issues, it was actually the mudslide and landslides that followed after the eruption which cause utter chaos.
One of those landslides destroyed the home of Omayra.
This mix of volcanic lava and ice, also known as lahar, poured into villages, homes and alleys as it devastated everything in its path.
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Omayra Sánchez Garzón became the face of a disaster in 1985 as she suffered for hours before dying.(Wikimedia Commons)
The awful incident left Omayra trapped underneath her home’s roof for three days, with no way of being freed.
This is because she was pinned down underwater by concrete and building materials, which would see her legs shatter if divers removed it.
Paired with the fact that they couldn’t provide the life-saving care to her if her legs were amputated, each option held a death sentence for the little girl.
Omayra was left to wait until the inevitable happened as bystanders could only watch in anguish for 60 hours as rescue efforts failed.
It wasn’t long until the 13-year-old eventually lost her fight for survival.
However, it was before her death that an image proved to be a haunting reminder to the world of what had occurred in the village.
It showed Omayra in a terrible state of health as she deteriorated.
However, she was not left alone for a moment.
Journalists, photographers, TV crews, Red Cross workers and emergency officials gathered around her and attempted to make her as comfortable as possible, hoping for a miracle or eleventh hour rescue.
On the third day, Omayra had begun hallucinating and she told the stunned people that she couldn’t be late for school as she had a maths test.
Rescue attempt of Omayra following the landslide (Pool BOUVET/DUCLOS/HIRES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Her eyes had now become so bloodshot that they appeared black, while her hands had whitened and her face had swelled.
Omayra final words were a loving dote to her family, speaking directly to a camera she said: “Mommy, I love you so much, daddy I love you, brother I love you.”
She died on November 16, 1985, and it is believed she died as a result of gangrene or hypothermia.
While the landslide killed Omayra’s father and aunt, her brother survived only losing a finger. Her mother, happened to be in Bogota at the time of eruption.
She later said about Omayra’s death: “It is horrible, but we have to think about the living… I will live for my son, who only lost a finger.”
The Colombian government were heavily criticized for their lack of preparation amid the threat of the volcano in wake of Omayra’s death.