Photographer of tragic young girl trapped in volcanic mudslide shares 'heartbreaking question' she asked him

Warning: This article contains content that some readers may find disturbing

The photographer behind the tragic image of a young girl trapped in a volcanic mudflow has spoken of the “heartbreaking question” she asked him.

In 1985, Frank Fournier traveled to Colombia, where the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz had caused great devastation among the population. Of the 29,000 inhabitants of the town of Armero, around 20,000 lost their lives.

Many survived the initial eruption but were caught in mudslides or trapped in rubble. The photographer met a farmer who took him to the young girl “who needed help.”

“He took me to her. She was almost alone at that point, just a few people there and a few rescue workers helping someone else a little further away,” he explained to the BBC two decades later.

It was, after all, the photo of the year. (Wikimedia Commons/Frank Fournier)

Fournier's image of the girl is particularly haunting because her tired, black eyes have become synonymous with tragedy.

And he said when he reached the 13-year-old, “she was lying in a big puddle” and had been there for nearly three days. The Frenchman said she was “trapped from the waist down in concrete and other debris from the collapsed houses.”

“It was just dusk and the poor girl was in pain and very confused,” he added.

Her name was Omayra Sánchez Garzón and numerous rescue attempts were made to get her out. In the end, the rescuers could not do much more than comfort her.

Fournier said heartbreakingly: “When I took the pictures, I felt completely powerless in the face of this little girl who faced death with courage and dignity. She felt that her life was coming to an end.”

Thousands died in the disaster. (Jacques Langevin/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

The photographer said he felt compelled to report on “what this little girl had to go through” and that at that point Omayra “kept losing consciousness” while making a sad plea.

“She even asked me if I could take her to school because she was afraid she would be late,” Fournier recalls.

About three hours after he got there, the young girl sadly died. He recounted how people later asked him: “When I took the pictures, I felt completely powerless in the face of this little girl who faced death with courage and dignity. She felt that her life was coming to an end.” But, he explained, “it was impossible.”

“People still find the image disturbing. It underscores the enduring power of this little girl. I was lucky to be able to act as a bridge to connect people to her. That's the magic of it,” he added.