Answer: Omayra Sánchez Garzón (August 28, 1972 – November 16, 1985) was a 13-year-old Colombian girl killed in Armero, Colombia by the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. Volcanic debris mixed with ice to form massive lahars (volcanically induced mudslides, landslides, and debris flows) that rushed into the river valleys below the mountain, killing nearly 25,000 people and destroying Armero and 13 other villages.
After a lahar demolished her home, Omayra became pinned beneath the debris of her house; she remained trapped in water for three days. Her plight was documented as she descended from calmness into agony. Her courage and dignity touched journalists and relief workers, who put great efforts into comforting her. After 60 hours of struggling, she died, likely due to exposure. Her death highlighted the failure of officials to respond promptly to the threat of the volcano and the efforts of volunteer rescue workers to reach and treat trapped victims despite a dearth of supplies and equipment.
Omayra became internationally famous through a photograph of her taken shortly before her death by photojournalist Frank Fournier, which when published worldwide spawned considerable controversy; it was later designated the World Press Photo of the Year for 1985. She has remained a lasting figure in popular culture, remembered through music, literature, and commemorative articles.
Despite her situation, Omayra remained relatively positive: she sang to volunteer worker Germán Santa María Barragán, a journalist and future diplomat asked for sweet food, drank soda, and agreed to be interviewed. At times, the teenage girl was scared, and prayed or cried On the third night, Omayra began hallucinating, saying that she did not want to be late for school and mentioned a math exam.Near the end of her life, Omayra's eyes reddened, her face swelled, and her hands whitened. At one point she asked the people to leave her so they could rest. Hours later the workers returned with a pump and worked feverishly to save her, but her legs were oriented as though she was kneeling, and so it was impossible to remove her without severing her legs. Lacking the surgical equipment to save her from the effects of an amputation, the doctors present agreed that it would be more humane to let her die.[ In all, Omayra suffered for nearly three nights (roughly 60 hours) before she died at approximately 10:05 A.M. on November 16 from exposure
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