Why they were so dark is chilling
Warning: this article contains images some readers may find distressing.
At just 13 years old, Omayra Sánchez Garzón faced certain death after becoming stuck under the roof of her home after a deadly landslide obliterated her village.
The mudflow was created from the aftermath of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano eruption, in Armero, Columbia, on 13 November, 1985.
While the eruption was relatively small, it melted around 10 percent of the glacier at the summit, which formed a volatile mixture of volcanic lava and ice, known as lahar, and gushed into the river valleys below and towards the nearby villages.
It engulfed everything in its way, killing an estimated 25,000 people and destroying 14 nearby villages.
One of those tragic deaths was Omayra’s, with the young teen becoming the face of the disaster.
Photojournalist Frank Fournier sat with her to comfort her in her final hours and it was he that snapped the picture of her with eyes as black as tar – going on to win the World Press Photo of the Year in 1986.
Speaking about it, Fournier told the BBC: “She was in a large puddle, trapped from the waist down by concrete and other debris from the collapsed houses.
.webp)
Omayra Sánchez Garzón became the face of a disaster in 1985 as she suffered for hours before succumbing to her injuries.(Wikimedia Commons)
“She had been there for almost three days. Dawn was just breaking and the poor girl was in pain and very confused.
“All around, hundreds of people were trapped. Rescuers were having difficulty reaching them. I could hear people screaming for help and then silence – an eerie silence. It was very haunting.”
But that doesn’t explain why Omayra’s eyes were black.
The tragic reason why they were as dark as ink, was due to her legs being pinned underwater by concrete and debris, as well as the prolonged time she was under water – a total of three days.
With eyes so bloodshot they appeared black, pale white hands and a swollen face, she spoke directly to a camera what would be her final words captured: “Mommy, I love you so much, daddy I love you, brother I love you.”
Rescue attempt of Omayra who was pinned underwater by concrete and debris following the landslide. (Pool BOUVET/DUCLOS/HIRES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Omayra died on 16 November, 1985.
Fournier added: “When I took the pictures I felt totally powerless in front of this little girl, who was facing death with courage and dignity. She could sense that her life was going.
“I felt that the only thing I could do was to report properly on the courage and the suffering and the dignity of the little girl and hope that it would mobilise people to help the ones that had been rescued and had been saved.
“I felt I had to report what this little girl had to go through.”
If it wasn’t for Fournier, the world may never have known of Omayra Sánchez Garzón.
