Photographer who took tragic photo of girl trapped in volcanic mudflow reveals heartbreaking question she asked him before dying

The photographer behind the famously heartbreaking photo of a young girl dying after becoming trapped in the debris caused by a volcano eruption shared what she asked him before she died.

The photo was taken in the 1980s after Nevado del Ruiz erupted in Columbia, which killed around 20,000 people.

Not only did the volcano spew out lava, the catastrophic eruption also caused landslides and mudslides, which had a devastating impact on the landscape.

Tragically, Omayra Sánchez Garzón, who was 13 at the time, was one of the people to lose her life after she became trapped in the debris caused by the mudslide.

The Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia, pictured in 2023 (JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty Images)

While people tried to help the young girl, sadly she was struck 'from the waist down by concrete and other debris from the collapsed houses', making it impossible to free her.

Ultimately Omayra died, but before her tragic passing, photographer Frank Fournier took a photograph of the 13-year-old.

The harrowing photo showed Omayra with most of her body submerged in a body of water.

She had blackened eyes and looked extremely weak from the days she'd spent partially submerged.

The photograph went on to become well-known worldwide.

Speaking over three decades on from the fatal ordeal, photographer Frank spoke about Omayra.

Omayra Sánchez Garzón became the face of a disaster in 1985 as she suffered for hours before dying (Wikimedia Commons/Frank Fournier)

"For three nights and three days - stuck in a pool of sewage water at the bottom of a small hill, lay crushed under layers upon layers of fallen wall, a voice was to speak in the name of 28,000," he said during a lecture at the 2022 Xposure International Photography Festival.

"It was a voice of an ordinary little girl who will cross land and time, and will bounce and pierce the heart of millions of people… A commanding dignity, a stunning courage and a relentless kindness during this oppressive and painful hour reveals more than ever the magnitude of every single individual."

Elsewhere in the years that have followed, Frank revealed the sad question the teenage girl had asked him before she died.

Speaking to the BBC in 2005, the photographer recalled: "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."

Frank added: "She even asked me if I could take her to school because she was worried that she would be late."

Omayra died on November 16, 1985, and it is believed she died as a result of gangrene or hypothermia.

To donate to Save the Children, which helps children survive wherever disaster strikes, you can visit its website.