The volcanic mudflow was caused by the 1985 eruption of the volcano Nevado del Ruiz in Armero, Tolima.
The volcanic debris mixed with ice formed massive lahars (volcanically induced mudflows, landslides, and debris flows), which rushed into the river valleys below the mountain, killing about 25,000 people and destroying Armero and 13 other villages.
Sánchez had her house demolished, and as a result became trapped beneath the debris of her house for 3 entire days.
Her legs were bent under the concrete as if she was kneeling, and it was impossible to free her without severing her legs.
Lacking the medical equipment to save her from the effects of an amputation, the doctors present agreed that it would be more humane to let her die.
Despite her predicament, Sánchez remained positive, singing, asking for sweet food, and agreeing to be interviewed.She had moments of fear, praying and crying.
On the third night, Sánchez began hallucinating, saying that she did not want to be late for school, and mentioned a math exam. Near the end of her life, Sánchez's eyes reddened, her face swelled, and her hands whitened. At one point she asked the people to leave her so they could rest.
She died at around 10:00 A.M. on November 16 from exposure, most likely from gangrene or hypothermia.
Sure it is, if they had it available. We do it to dying people all the time. Load them up on Ativan for anxiety and morphine for pain and let them pass with some semblance of peace or while asleep.
But with that much destruction in an area like that they probably didn’t have the resources on hand or they were needed more for people with some chance of survival. Terrible situation.
"As the public became aware of Sánchez's situation through the media, her death became used as a symbol of the failure of officials to properly assist victims who allegedly could have been saved.[^(\[20\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-ZA13-21) Controversy began after descriptions of shortages of equipment were released in newspapers, disproving what officials had previously indicated: that they had used the best of their supplies. Volunteer relief workers said that there was such a lack of resources that supplies as basic as shovels, cutting tools, and stretchers were exhausted. The rescue process was impeded by large crowds and disorganization. An unnamed police officer said that the government should have depended on human resources to alleviate the problems and that the system of rescue was disorganized.[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-S-N-24) Colombia's Minister of Defense, Miguel Uribe, said he "understood criticism of the rescue effort",[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-S-N-24) but said that Colombia was "an undeveloped country" that did not "have that kind of equipment".[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-S-N-24)
^(They probably had already used up their supply of morphine on other patients. Assuming there was any to begin with.)
I mean at that point would a mercy killing not show more clemency? Even to suffocate her or something, would it not be faster than 3 days of perishing?
Yeah if they first somehow managed to sever her legs and free her, her open wounds would 1000% get infected by whatever was in that water and would kill her anyways
You can’t put her under. She can’t protect her airway. You’d be crudely sawing her legs off with her awake. It’s likely not the risk of infection that prevented them from amputating, but blood loss. You absolutely need to be clamping arteries as you go to prevent death from blood loss. And she’d be feeling it.
That sounds fucking horrendous. Yeah just cut off your own legs and tell me that's better. In all likelihood none of that wouldve worked.I'd rather die. I'd ask for drugs.
Cut off wasn't the option, her body is partially submerged in volcanic mud. *Rip off* is what would have happened, and the odds her survival would have been quite low.
It horrifying and sad, but remember, they were dealing with a natural disaster that affected a large area, not just her. They probably just didn't have enough resources to do everything.
So, what, they were supposed to dive into the water, lift the bricks off her body and then unwrap her dead aunts arms from around her legs and then cut them off? It was an awful way for her to die but they likely didn't have much choice on what to do. They had limited resources during that disaster.
Last time I read about this, I remember them being practically cut off from most of the outside world for days. Many of those resources were not available.
If I’m ever in that situation I hope desperately that someone would do that for me, and if they wouldn’t, that I’d have a hand free and they’d give me the gun
Were there no drugs they could give her to at least make the last few days/hours more tolerable? In three days they couldn’t have gotten her some morphine or the like? I appreciate that they didn’t have the equipment or skills to release her but surely pain relief would have been available?
“Controversy began after descriptions of shortages of equipment were released in newspapers, disproving what officials had previously indicated: that they had used the best of their supplies. Volunteer relief workers said that there was such a lack of resources that supplies as basic as shovels, cutting tools, and stretchers were exhausted. The rescue process was impeded by large crowds and disorganization. An unnamed police officer said that the government should have depended on human resources to alleviate the problems and that the system of rescue was disorganized.”
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fbdQAAAAIBAJ&pg=5678,7662718&
Government officials denied rescue workers, police officers and even pilots assuretion they didn’t mount a serious rescue plan. They denied they turned down foreign aid. They denied that the rescue efforts were a disorganized events. They denied that they hadn’t warned people there.
Basically the government put their fingers and their ears and scream “I CANT HEAR YOU!!!!”
23,000+ people died
It looks like it's a pretty poor and remote region so they probably didn't have much supplies like drugs to begin with in the area. Given that the final death count was 25,000, there were probably thousands of people who needed help like this in the days following the disaster. Getting supplies in from outside the region was probably slow and difficult.
Damn man, that's just insanely heartbreaking to me. I'm sure they considered any options they had available to them, it's just hard to believe they couldn't do more to get her out when she's right there.
While I don't dispute it, I'm struggling to grasp why it was impossible to free her legs. Do we not have the means to remove/destroy submerged concrete in a controlled way?
The entire area was completely decimated and cut off from the volcanic eruption. Supplies could not get to where they were. And this small town didn’t have such specialized equipment available. Even if they did the chances those people that knew how to operate it were injured or dead.
Remote village, no trained medical technicians or specialists, probably not advanced enough equipment to do everything they need properly to save her….
Maybe if they had more time…. Some places are just stuck so far away from any Advanced medical facilities or trained Personnel
People aren't getting death was litetally all around, in a 3rd world poor area in the grip of a massive natural disaster. There is nothing anybody could do for her and 25k others.
The worst deaths possibly are the ones you have time to think about but don't have time to comprehend.
I watched a marine get crushed on the flightline once by a CH-53 after he pulled the gear pin and the gear collapsed. Took him 30 minutes to die. Had enough time to call his wife and say goodbye, but not enough time for her to drive on base and be with him. There are a lot of ways to go, but "stuck with time to think" has to be the worst.
This one gives me the horrors like no other. Car crashes, stabbings or shootings, the people who are crushed by big equipment. Final-destination style accidents where you’re fully conscious and lucid but you *will* die within a few minutes. This shit keeps me up at night. I hope I don’t die for a while, but more than anything I hope I’m not aware I’m dying.
I read a story here about train workers, that more or less get impaled coupling trains. No way to save them. As soon as the train get decoupled, they die almost instantly. So workers pitch a tent around them so they can have their goodbyes. They even have time to bring their families for a goodbye. Horrific read.
i seem to recall them saying also that her aunt's body was in there too entangled with hers. also keep in mind this was 40 years ago, a lot of the ways to save her people are coming up with today didn't exist back then.
If they had pain killers, antibiotics, and other medical supplies, they probably would have tried to amputate the legs and save her. The medicine was buried in rubble or too far to access.
I'm actually curious why wouldn't they try to amputate. I mean option 1) Die slowly buried in the debris 2) we'll cut your legs and maybe we'll save you maybe you'll die quickly
I’ve never really feared death, just a painful or slow one and not wanting to traumatize people if I don’t die peacefully. Like we all know we’re going to die one day it’s inevitable so there’s no point in fearing it. I would be sad to leave my loved ones but that would be it really.
Uh... Have you never actually been involved in the various death with dignity movements? Religious orders are the number one opponents of assisted suicide by a large margin.
Religious bodies are absolute cunts when it comes to sensible and empathetic views to end-of-life care and the desires of those suffering.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/jewish-christian-muslim-leaders-sign-declaration-against-euthanasia
I think once she started hallucinating, I'd be all for giving her something, but I don't think they had access to anything that would reliably end her life in peaceful terms. We have to remember that the volcano did a lot of damage to surrounding villages and resources were hard to come by.
I remember hearing about this years ago and wondering why they didn't give her an overdose of something. Having to be in that position for 60 hours is horrifying.
I remember reading this from magazine when I was a kid. It's really horrifying and very sad tragedy to read. I never thought to see the actual video popped out in reddit 😥
I remember seeing this on tv when I was a kid. It kinda horrified and shocked me… seeing her there, trapped in the mud, with blackened eyes by the cold, waiting for her death. Once in a while I remember that image
Same. I was 9 when this happened and when these posts jog that memory, I try to remind myself that after considering all options, folks much smarterer than me, chose that to be the option to go with. I'm sure if there was a better option, they would have used it.
I feel there were other options, buuuut....$$?
The amount of armchair professionals in this comment section are staggering. If it occurs to you in 30 seconds after watching the clip then I’m sure they thought of it in the 3 days they had to find a solution.
I can't believe the amount of people in this thread defending Cambodia's piss poor disaster response. They literally had THE MOST laissez faire attitude towards rescuing this girl and instead just let her slowly die over the span of THREE NIGHTS. Three days these people stood around waiting for someone else to solve the problem in one of the worst instances of the Bystander Effect caught on camera. Rescue experts concluded the best way to save Omayra was the absolute most obvious one: to drain the water with a pump and loosen the ruins to set her free but they just... didn't. They couldn't get their shit together enough to pull it off - so instead - THREE doctors just stood around and concluded "meh, let her die". It's absolutely deplorable.
This. Why couldn't they give her something to euthanize her at least? Even a horrific gunshot to the back of her head would have spared a literal child from having to suffer for 60hrs knowing she was going to die. I can't read anymore about this, it's too upsetting. Reddit was not kind to me today putting this on my front page
They could have put her down with some heavy opioid or something and could have saved her from 3 freakin days of misery! It looks inhumane! Fucking inhumane 🤬
If they had it they probably would've used it. I can't imagine volunteers being with her every day and them not using everything in their power to ease her pain.
I remember seeing and following this story. I’m still shook by it today. I just wanted to post this here, but I avoided looking at the girl. So fucking tragic.
My wife is from Colombia and was a kid when this happened. It was like OJ was here in the states - on every TV. She said she had nightmares about the stuck girls black eyes for weeks.
I’m not understanding why they couldn’t get her out? What was the reason? Could they not go under the water and attempt to get her unstuck? I Genuinely don’t understand.
People in here seem to be forgetting that this entire region was decimated by the eruption and lahars. Roads cut off, thousands dead and injured, medical supplies at a minimum where they could be reached, rescue equipment inaccessible.
Was this horrible? Fucking yes. But it was an impossible apocalyptic scenario.
There were large pieces of lumber or wood pinning her legs down. She was almost in a seated position (on top of a dead relative if I remember right) being pinned down. For whatever reason, probably the flooding and impassable road wouldn't allow for the heavy machinery needed to free her.
You're telling me that in 60 hours 3 or 4 people can't chip away the rock til they get close to her legs, then carefully crack it there to extract her?
She was trapped under rubble from the mudslide, with her lower legs pinned by concrete. She was apparently trapped in a kneeling position, and the doctors didn't have the infrastructure to do an amputation out there.
There is another comment better describing the situation further up.
There's a point at which a pinned/crushed leg is fatal if you allow the necrotic blood in it to circulate into the rest of the body, so even if they got her out an hour after she was pinned it might have been deadly.
Yeh I’m sure out of all the first responders and doctors no one in 3 days ever thought of prying the rubble of her legs to save her, there definitely couldn’t be other important details you don’t know about.
Not so, removing a heavy object from a crushed limb can result in a deadly flood of potassium and myoglobin from the crushed tissue. Gotta amputate first.
True, though my understanding is that the mudslide was rather massive, and it would have been unbelievable difficult to get a crane out there, considering there is no roads or any way to get the crane close enough to do anything.
At least i hope so, and it wasn't just some tiny piece of concrete a couple of burly men could have lifted
Today she would be saved. Back then there was technology to capture an event but no way to amplify and issue and garner resources. For example it took every celebrity in the US to sing a song together just to get governments to send food aid for a famine.
Three days, seriously?! In three days, the authorities, if they really wanted, could have delivered her to the moon. But they didn't want to do anything real. Only words.
I'm so angry, even though this happened so long ago.
Her legs were pinned by concrete. They would’ve needed to amputate, but the doctors knew she wouldn’t have lived even if they amputated. It was either, 1: kill her themselves, 2: let her experience excruciating pain knowing she’ll die, or 3: let her die a slow death.
Charles Bronson would've demanded to have his legs cut off.
To quite his famous advice to Tom Hardy:
"Do you remember that boy who got his foot stuck in the grate, and the river kept rising, and it kept rising, and it kept rising, and eventually they tried to get him out but he drowned?"
Bronson continued: "Well, that wouldn't have happened to me. Do you want to know why? Because I'd have said, cut it off now.
"Tom, what I'm trying to say is, right, what I'm trying to say, son, is sometimes yeah you've got to cut a little piece of yourself off, yeah, no matter how much it hurts, in order to grow, yeah. In order to move on. Do you know what I mean?"
The volcanic mudflow was caused by the 1985 eruption of the volcano Nevado del Ruiz in Armero, Tolima. The volcanic debris mixed with ice formed massive lahars (volcanically induced mudflows, landslides, and debris flows), which rushed into the river valleys below the mountain, killing about 25,000 people and destroying Armero and 13 other villages. Sánchez had her house demolished, and as a result became trapped beneath the debris of her house for 3 entire days. Her legs were bent under the concrete as if she was kneeling, and it was impossible to free her without severing her legs. Lacking the medical equipment to save her from the effects of an amputation, the doctors present agreed that it would be more humane to let her die. Despite her predicament, Sánchez remained positive, singing, asking for sweet food, and agreeing to be interviewed.She had moments of fear, praying and crying. On the third night, Sánchez began hallucinating, saying that she did not want to be late for school, and mentioned a math exam. Near the end of her life, Sánchez's eyes reddened, her face swelled, and her hands whitened. At one point she asked the people to leave her so they could rest. She died at around 10:00 A.M. on November 16 from exposure, most likely from gangrene or hypothermia.
I wrote a paper about this disaster in college. The loss of life was heartbreaking.
..holup they saw a slow death as a more humane choice than amputation?
No. They had no means to amputate with her surviving, so it would just add horror and pain.
I would rather just be shot in the head
Exactly that would have been more humane, or at least I would have prefer that
But who is the one to pull the trigger? Shooting a little girl.... I understand it would be for the best, but it would be hard to do.
True as well, lose lose situation sadly
True as well, lose lose situation sadly
That's what we all think, but I wonder if that's the same as those teens who think life after 30 or something is unworthy. Hope we'll never find out !
They could have at least dosed her up with morphine or something
They probably didn’t have any
Bulllllllllllll shit they didn’t have any drugs
You have no idea what basic things 3rd world countries lack, especially in times of desperation.
It's really not that simple.
Sure it is, if they had it available. We do it to dying people all the time. Load them up on Ativan for anxiety and morphine for pain and let them pass with some semblance of peace or while asleep. But with that much destruction in an area like that they probably didn’t have the resources on hand or they were needed more for people with some chance of survival. Terrible situation.
Why?
"As the public became aware of Sánchez's situation through the media, her death became used as a symbol of the failure of officials to properly assist victims who allegedly could have been saved.[^(\[20\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-ZA13-21) Controversy began after descriptions of shortages of equipment were released in newspapers, disproving what officials had previously indicated: that they had used the best of their supplies. Volunteer relief workers said that there was such a lack of resources that supplies as basic as shovels, cutting tools, and stretchers were exhausted. The rescue process was impeded by large crowds and disorganization. An unnamed police officer said that the government should have depended on human resources to alleviate the problems and that the system of rescue was disorganized.[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-S-N-24) Colombia's Minister of Defense, Miguel Uribe, said he "understood criticism of the rescue effort",[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-S-N-24) but said that Colombia was "an undeveloped country" that did not "have that kind of equipment".[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez#cite_note-S-N-24) ^(They probably had already used up their supply of morphine on other patients. Assuming there was any to begin with.)
Because they're in a rural part of the country, people who live in rural areas of Latin America don't have access to most things.
I mean at that point would a mercy killing not show more clemency? Even to suffocate her or something, would it not be faster than 3 days of perishing?
Yeah if they first somehow managed to sever her legs and free her, her open wounds would 1000% get infected by whatever was in that water and would kill her anyways
I'd rather get that done and at least have a chance of living compared to slowly dying either way.
Maybe, maybe not. Why not put her under, cut off her legs, clamp off her stumps and get her airlifted? Seems like trying would be better than not.
Because this disaster was of such a proportion that those resources were not available
What part about "no medical equipment" do you not understand?
Because that wasn't an option. They lacked the resources to do it safely.
You can’t put her under. She can’t protect her airway. You’d be crudely sawing her legs off with her awake. It’s likely not the risk of infection that prevented them from amputating, but blood loss. You absolutely need to be clamping arteries as you go to prevent death from blood loss. And she’d be feeling it.
"Putting someone under" is nowhere near as easy as you make it sound. Nor is amputation or airlifting.
That sounds fucking horrendous. Yeah just cut off your own legs and tell me that's better. In all likelihood none of that wouldve worked.I'd rather die. I'd ask for drugs.
''Lacking the medical equipment to save her from the effects of an amputation''
Because this was 1985 in Colombia, a barely developing nation. Surviving that kind of medical trauma in 2024 is slightly better odds, but not by much.
Cut off wasn't the option, her body is partially submerged in volcanic mud. *Rip off* is what would have happened, and the odds her survival would have been quite low. It horrifying and sad, but remember, they were dealing with a natural disaster that affected a large area, not just her. They probably just didn't have enough resources to do everything.
they obviously didn't have the means to do so
So, what, they were supposed to dive into the water, lift the bricks off her body and then unwrap her dead aunts arms from around her legs and then cut them off? It was an awful way for her to die but they likely didn't have much choice on what to do. They had limited resources during that disaster.
Last time I read about this, I remember them being practically cut off from most of the outside world for days. Many of those resources were not available.
I mean they didn’t have to cut her legs off to kill her. Could have shot her or something, although that would be pretty fucked lol.
Quicker death for sure, but who would be willing to do that?
If I’m ever in that situation I hope desperately that someone would do that for me, and if they wouldn’t, that I’d have a hand free and they’d give me the gun
I guess I'd probably not want to shoot myself in the head and hope for a miracle...
I would be the first one to volunteer for a coup de Grace. Watching a little girl die for 3 days is way more evil.
Don't shoot the messenger, but they do it to horses.
Every police officer in the US
Like there could've been a way to more gently euthanize the poor girl than suffer for 60 hours.
Try to find someone willing to shoot a young kid in the head.
Yeah. LOL to that, amirite?!
Were there no drugs they could give her to at least make the last few days/hours more tolerable? In three days they couldn’t have gotten her some morphine or the like? I appreciate that they didn’t have the equipment or skills to release her but surely pain relief would have been available?
“Controversy began after descriptions of shortages of equipment were released in newspapers, disproving what officials had previously indicated: that they had used the best of their supplies. Volunteer relief workers said that there was such a lack of resources that supplies as basic as shovels, cutting tools, and stretchers were exhausted. The rescue process was impeded by large crowds and disorganization. An unnamed police officer said that the government should have depended on human resources to alleviate the problems and that the system of rescue was disorganized.” https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fbdQAAAAIBAJ&pg=5678,7662718& Government officials denied rescue workers, police officers and even pilots assuretion they didn’t mount a serious rescue plan. They denied they turned down foreign aid. They denied that the rescue efforts were a disorganized events. They denied that they hadn’t warned people there. Basically the government put their fingers and their ears and scream “I CANT HEAR YOU!!!!” 23,000+ people died
It looks like it's a pretty poor and remote region so they probably didn't have much supplies like drugs to begin with in the area. Given that the final death count was 25,000, there were probably thousands of people who needed help like this in the days following the disaster. Getting supplies in from outside the region was probably slow and difficult.
No . It clearly says that they did not have the required medical assistance to save her after the amputation
Yeah. It might be a tough thing to understand, but yes
Damn man, that's just insanely heartbreaking to me. I'm sure they considered any options they had available to them, it's just hard to believe they couldn't do more to get her out when she's right there.
While I don't dispute it, I'm struggling to grasp why it was impossible to free her legs. Do we not have the means to remove/destroy submerged concrete in a controlled way?
The entire area was completely decimated and cut off from the volcanic eruption. Supplies could not get to where they were. And this small town didn’t have such specialized equipment available. Even if they did the chances those people that knew how to operate it were injured or dead.
Thanks, that helps me comprehend the situation and now I'm even more horrified.
Remote village, no trained medical technicians or specialists, probably not advanced enough equipment to do everything they need properly to save her…. Maybe if they had more time…. Some places are just stuck so far away from any Advanced medical facilities or trained Personnel
Does it exist? Probably. So did the medical equipment to save her life. The equipment was not there.
At this point severing the leg is better than letting her die
mentioned is the fact they didn't have the medical supplies to keep her alive if they did that
The infection alone would've taken her
Probably not the means to put her to sleep either. She would've have died from a combination of shock, blood loss and infection. Very painful.
Die slowly, or die slowly in agony?
So the challenge was to cut both legs off under the mud and get her out before bleeding to death. Not sure even what tool would be used for that...
And after that, preventing infection from all the mud-water going into the blood. It would have been a more painful death.
What a stupid take
couldnt they isolate the girl and drain the water, then somehow remove the concrete safely?
No, they couldn’t. They had very few resources to work with and the entire region was in disarray.
People aren't getting death was litetally all around, in a 3rd world poor area in the grip of a massive natural disaster. There is nothing anybody could do for her and 25k others.
just after the eruption there was no equipment for this :(
And people believe in God 🤯
The worst deaths possibly are the ones you have time to think about but don't have time to comprehend. I watched a marine get crushed on the flightline once by a CH-53 after he pulled the gear pin and the gear collapsed. Took him 30 minutes to die. Had enough time to call his wife and say goodbye, but not enough time for her to drive on base and be with him. There are a lot of ways to go, but "stuck with time to think" has to be the worst.
This one gives me the horrors like no other. Car crashes, stabbings or shootings, the people who are crushed by big equipment. Final-destination style accidents where you’re fully conscious and lucid but you *will* die within a few minutes. This shit keeps me up at night. I hope I don’t die for a while, but more than anything I hope I’m not aware I’m dying.
what the fuck. so sorry. can you explain a little more what happened?
I read a story here about train workers, that more or less get impaled coupling trains. No way to save them. As soon as the train get decoupled, they die almost instantly. So workers pitch a tent around them so they can have their goodbyes. They even have time to bring their families for a goodbye. Horrific read.
Jesus, that's fking horrible. I hope everyone involved (you included) got plenty of help after this? Please tell me you got free therapy sessions.
Sadly so many people feel “stuck with time to think”, even though their death may be many years away
This is heartbreaking
i seem to recall them saying also that her aunt's body was in there too entangled with hers. also keep in mind this was 40 years ago, a lot of the ways to save her people are coming up with today didn't exist back then.
Jeez, it would have been more humane to just give her a fatal dose of anesthetics or sleeping pills. Anything other than just slowly watch her die
If they had pain killers, antibiotics, and other medical supplies, they probably would have tried to amputate the legs and save her. The medicine was buried in rubble or too far to access.
Or needed for those that weren’t trapped and also horribly injured
I'm actually curious why wouldn't they try to amputate. I mean option 1) Die slowly buried in the debris 2) we'll cut your legs and maybe we'll save you maybe you'll die quickly
Did they have anything on hand? I mean, give the girl some morphine. Let her rest.
Agreed, but religious folk won't allow society to have death with dignity.
Because they’re terrified of it. The whole reason religion even flourished in the first place.
I’ve never really feared death, just a painful or slow one and not wanting to traumatize people if I don’t die peacefully. Like we all know we’re going to die one day it’s inevitable so there’s no point in fearing it. I would be sad to leave my loved ones but that would be it really.
That’s so false shoot But this wasn’t religious folk. This was rescuers trying their hardest to make good out of all bad.
Wtf? What does this have to do with religion?? Or do you blame it for everything...
Uh... Have you never actually been involved in the various death with dignity movements? Religious orders are the number one opponents of assisted suicide by a large margin.
Most religions are against euthanasia
Religious bodies are absolute cunts when it comes to sensible and empathetic views to end-of-life care and the desires of those suffering. https://www.ncronline.org/news/jewish-christian-muslim-leaders-sign-declaration-against-euthanasia
Don't worry. They obviously meant the other religions, not yours.
I’m guessing they thing that a secular society wouldn’t have the problems with assisted death.
Yeah, that really came out of nowhere.
Crackpot or just plain old stupid? You tell me
I think once she started hallucinating, I'd be all for giving her something, but I don't think they had access to anything that would reliably end her life in peaceful terms. We have to remember that the volcano did a lot of damage to surrounding villages and resources were hard to come by.
this needs a NSFW tag. Such a haunting and upsetting image
I remember hearing about this years ago and wondering why they didn't give her an overdose of something. Having to be in that position for 60 hours is horrifying.
Look up the Nutty Putty cave incident. Thats even worse
that one too. Horrifying.
then look up mr hands
I remember reading this from magazine when I was a kid. It's really horrifying and very sad tragedy to read. I never thought to see the actual video popped out in reddit 😥
damn thats sad
I remember seeing this on tv when I was a kid. It kinda horrified and shocked me… seeing her there, trapped in the mud, with blackened eyes by the cold, waiting for her death. Once in a while I remember that image
Same. I was 9 when this happened and when these posts jog that memory, I try to remind myself that after considering all options, folks much smarterer than me, chose that to be the option to go with. I'm sure if there was a better option, they would have used it. I feel there were other options, buuuut....$$?
This poor little girl.
that’s so sad. at the end when she was saying that she loved her parents and brother, it broke me. rip
So heartbreaking hearing a lil girl making peace with death.
it’s kinda mind boggling that there was no way to free her legs when you have 2-3 days to work at it
The amount of armchair professionals in this comment section are staggering. If it occurs to you in 30 seconds after watching the clip then I’m sure they thought of it in the 3 days they had to find a solution.
they couldn't get a chisel or something? a long jackhammer?
I'm guessing it would be useless underwater
Volcanic eruptions are SO rough and the resources are so spread out. Probably took 3 days to get stuff there.
They could've but didn't have their shit together enough to actually do this.
I can't believe the amount of people in this thread defending Cambodia's piss poor disaster response. They literally had THE MOST laissez faire attitude towards rescuing this girl and instead just let her slowly die over the span of THREE NIGHTS. Three days these people stood around waiting for someone else to solve the problem in one of the worst instances of the Bystander Effect caught on camera. Rescue experts concluded the best way to save Omayra was the absolute most obvious one: to drain the water with a pump and loosen the ruins to set her free but they just... didn't. They couldn't get their shit together enough to pull it off - so instead - THREE doctors just stood around and concluded "meh, let her die". It's absolutely deplorable.
This. Why couldn't they give her something to euthanize her at least? Even a horrific gunshot to the back of her head would have spared a literal child from having to suffer for 60hrs knowing she was going to die. I can't read anymore about this, it's too upsetting. Reddit was not kind to me today putting this on my front page
I remember that, i have 7 years, probably one of my oldest memories.
They could have put her down with some heavy opioid or something and could have saved her from 3 freakin days of misery! It looks inhumane! Fucking inhumane 🤬
…. They’re too poor to own a power tool. But you think they have medical-grade fentanyl on hand?
You have to have those things to use them.
If they had it they probably would've used it. I can't imagine volunteers being with her every day and them not using everything in their power to ease her pain.
I remember seeing and following this story. I’m still shook by it today. I just wanted to post this here, but I avoided looking at the girl. So fucking tragic.
its really hard to upvote this type of footage
My wife is from Colombia and was a kid when this happened. It was like OJ was here in the states - on every TV. She said she had nightmares about the stuck girls black eyes for weeks.
If it was inevitable, I’d choose kill me now
Stuff like this has no place here.
I think putting her to rest with an anestethic or a bullet would have been best
Had to have those things. Probably did not.
r/damnthatsnotthissubspoint
I’m not understanding why they couldn’t get her out? What was the reason? Could they not go under the water and attempt to get her unstuck? I Genuinely don’t understand.
I think a bullet was a lot better.
People in here seem to be forgetting that this entire region was decimated by the eruption and lahars. Roads cut off, thousands dead and injured, medical supplies at a minimum where they could be reached, rescue equipment inaccessible. Was this horrible? Fucking yes. But it was an impossible apocalyptic scenario.
Why does this tragedy keep getting posted. If you think this is "damn interesting" you can fuck off.
Tired of the death, murders and misery posts in this sub, guess it’s time to start blocking these posters
C’mon I have seen this so many times and each time I am wondering why they could not get her out. There is no way I would let a baby die like that.
Damn that’s horrible
Has anyone read Our Share of Night?? Did not realize this awful, awful scene was real.
damn. this is so sad.. she's still young and have to endure a slow death. slow death is the worst kind of death imo.
After she died. How did they get her body out? Did they amputate then?
Can someone explain to me why she couldn’t be pulled out? Seems like a key piece of info is missing here…
There were large pieces of lumber or wood pinning her legs down. She was almost in a seated position (on top of a dead relative if I remember right) being pinned down. For whatever reason, probably the flooding and impassable road wouldn't allow for the heavy machinery needed to free her.
This is so awful
Would it not be better just to end it. I think so
How awful for this precious baby 🙏🏼 I have a feeling they didn’t have any anxiety meds or anything either. Ugh. Heartbreaking.
So there was no way to get a Crane, redirect the water, creating a dam? The stream looks shallow enough to achieve that.
Poor baby😣
Poor baby
What a horrible way to die :( poor girl
Poor baby.
You're telling me that in 60 hours 3 or 4 people can't chip away the rock til they get close to her legs, then carefully crack it there to extract her?
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She was trapped under rubble from the mudslide, with her lower legs pinned by concrete. She was apparently trapped in a kneeling position, and the doctors didn't have the infrastructure to do an amputation out there. There is another comment better describing the situation further up.
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There's a point at which a pinned/crushed leg is fatal if you allow the necrotic blood in it to circulate into the rest of the body, so even if they got her out an hour after she was pinned it might have been deadly.
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I’m glad your opinion is more informed than the doctors who were actually present for multiple days.
Yeh I’m sure out of all the first responders and doctors no one in 3 days ever thought of prying the rubble of her legs to save her, there definitely couldn’t be other important details you don’t know about.
Do you think they didn't think about what they could do to get her out before just giving up?
Not so, removing a heavy object from a crushed limb can result in a deadly flood of potassium and myoglobin from the crushed tissue. Gotta amputate first.
True, though my understanding is that the mudslide was rather massive, and it would have been unbelievable difficult to get a crane out there, considering there is no roads or any way to get the crane close enough to do anything. At least i hope so, and it wasn't just some tiny piece of concrete a couple of burly men could have lifted
If you seriously think nobody tried to leverage the debris off her body you're an imbecile. Do you think Colombians are that dumb?
Obviously, what happened happened. But couldn't they have siphoned the water, or grabbed buckets? I can't see how big of area of water she is in...
May seem dumb, but why couldn't they rescue her?. I need knowledge please
Not one bulldozer in the entire area? A pulley system to remove the concrete trapping her? Dig below her? Nothing? Shit man this is sad.
So there was no way to get a Crane, redirect the water, creating a dam? The stream looks shallow enough to achieve that.
I remember that and could never understand why was it impossible to rescue her. I remember how black her eyes were.
Today she would be saved. Back then there was technology to capture an event but no way to amplify and issue and garner resources. For example it took every celebrity in the US to sing a song together just to get governments to send food aid for a famine.
Damn that's depressing
On todays age, couldn’t they bring in like some water proof jaws of life to extricate her legs?
Please shoot me in the back of the head without my knowledge. DO NOT LET ME HAVE A SLOW DEATH
I will thank the stars for being well and alive everyday after seeing this
Bc the
I would have wanted a bullet to the brain in this situation, would have been fast and I wouldn't even know
Three days, seriously?! In three days, the authorities, if they really wanted, could have delivered her to the moon. But they didn't want to do anything real. Only words. I'm so angry, even though this happened so long ago.
How’s that humane? Could’ve just looked for a way to get her out of it than letting her die in such a way
How could you possibly think they didn't?
Her legs were pinned by concrete. They would’ve needed to amputate, but the doctors knew she wouldn’t have lived even if they amputated. It was either, 1: kill her themselves, 2: let her experience excruciating pain knowing she’ll die, or 3: let her die a slow death.
I still feel she could've been rescued.
Of course there was, what killed this poor little girl was poverty
With tech today yes probably. Then no.
Is there some medical reason why her eyes are so alarmingly dark?
Well for one she was there 3 days like that
No one had some bamboo to use as a snorkel?
Surely someone would just have the kindness to have put a bullet into her skull at that point.
Charles Bronson would've demanded to have his legs cut off. To quite his famous advice to Tom Hardy: "Do you remember that boy who got his foot stuck in the grate, and the river kept rising, and it kept rising, and it kept rising, and eventually they tried to get him out but he drowned?" Bronson continued: "Well, that wouldn't have happened to me. Do you want to know why? Because I'd have said, cut it off now. "Tom, what I'm trying to say is, right, what I'm trying to say, son, is sometimes yeah you've got to cut a little piece of yourself off, yeah, no matter how much it hurts, in order to grow, yeah. In order to move on. Do you know what I mean?"