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Rescue workers searching through the rubble of a building in Colombia pulled out triplet sisters in the same order in which they were born — but only one survived, a family member revealed.
Ana María Saavedra, the first born and lone survivor, lost her 23-year-old sisters Sofía and Isabella; her father, Jairo Saavedra, and mother, Victoria Caicedo; and uncle, Diego Caicedo, after their four-story apartment building collapsed following Monday’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Cali.
Ana María’s uncle, Carlos Saavedra, told Semana news magazine that she was found beneath a door shortly after the building collapsed.
“The door protected her from the debris,” he said.
Saavedra revealed that the body of Sofía, the second born, was removed from the earthquake rubble four hours after Ana María was found.
As search and rescue teams were joined by volunteers, the family clung to the hope that they would find Isabella — Saavedra’s goddaughter – alive. But said sadly Isabella’s lifeless body was recovered later on Thursday evening.
In an interview with Blu Radio, Saavedra said Ana María told the family that prior to the earthquake, her father was showering and her mother was in their room waiting for her turn. Her uncle, Diego, was waiting for her dad to finish a job task for a US-based company for whom they worked.
“So, what Ana María says is that the two triplets who died were ahead of her, already going down the stairs, and when the earthquake hit, Ana María was coming out, and the apartment door, made of very fine cedar, fell on top of her,” Saavedra said.
“It shielded her from the rubble, and she was crushed, but with her head sticking out. Then she started screaming, and the neighbors came out within five minutes. Because the building tilted forward, she fell onto the sidewalk, into the street. Then the neighbors managed to hear her and removed her.”
Ana María was rushed to an area clinic and underwent surgery for a pelvic fracture on Wednesday.
As she was being prepped for the operation, the young woman told the anesthesiologist, “Doctor, I need to live because God has great things in store for me,” her cousin, March Espinosa, told Telemundo.
Ana María was notified Thursday that her siblings, parents and uncle all died.
“The truth is that Ana María … she was the lucky one” Carlos said. “There were no other survivors in the building – only Ana María.”
An update provided Saturday by Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management showed that at least 294 people have been confirmed dead and 3,935 injured. At least 320 people are still missing.
English (US)