The Times of India

Photographer behind one of historys most tragic images explains why he was helpless to save her

The photograph of 13-year-old Omayra Snchez Garzn, trapped in volcanic mud after the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption, became the defining image of Colombias 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.