The Story Behind the Picture: Omayra Sanchez

A very sad and unsettling photo of Omayra Sanchez, a 13-year-old victim of Colombia's volcano eruption, that was taken hours before her death in 1985 .

According to Wikipedia:

Omayra was trapped up to her neck in water, concrete, and other debris for three days before she succumbed to gangrene and hypothermia. During three nights of agony, Omayra seemed strong but was suffering. According to Cristina Echandia, a journalist who kept records of the events, Omayra sang and had normal conversations with the people who were trying to help her. The little girl was thirsty and scared. On the third night, Omayra began hallucinating, saying that she did not want to be late for school. At some point she asked the people to leave her so they could rest.Television coverage of the disaster introduced her to the world when she was still alive. The photo shown here was taken hours before her death and published after her death.

BBC News featured an article about Frank Fournier, the photographer who took the award-winning photo, and his account of the tragedy:

People were asking: "Why didn't you help her? Why didn't you get her out?" But it was impossible.