Photographer behind one of history’s most tragic images explains why he was helpless to save her
The photograph of 13-year-old Omayra Sánchez Garzón, trapped in volcanic mud after the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption, became the defining image of Colombia’s deadliest natural disaster. As she spent nearly 60 hours pinned beneath debris, cameras captured her final moments. The photographer later said rescue was impossible, and the image exposed failures in evacuation, leadership and disaster preparedness that cost thousands of lives.
The photograph of 13-year-old Omayra Sánchez Garzón, trapped in volcanic mud after the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption, became the defining image of Colombia’s deadliest natural disaster. As she spent nearly 60 hours pinned beneath debris, cameras captured her final moments. The photographer later said rescue was impossible, and the image exposed failures in evacuation, leadership and disaster preparedness that cost thousands of lives.
