A month after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake devastated parts of Colombia, 23-year-old Ana María Saavedra has resurfaced in public for the first time. She was seen at a private memorial event held on September 10 in the Pance neighborhood of Cali, where relatives and survivors gathered to honor those killed in the disaster.
Saavedra is the sole survivor of her immediate family. She lost her parents, Jairo Saavedra and Vicky Caycedo, along with her two sisters, Sofía and Isabella, when the building where they lived collapsed during the August 10 earthquake. Footage obtained by the newspaper El Tiempo shows her taking part in the tribute alongside other grieving families, including journalist Jorge Fernando Patiño, who lost his father in the same tragedy. As part of the ceremony, mourners released butterflies from boxes in memory of the victims.
Saavedra’s appearance comes as she continues recovering from serious injuries suffered while trying to escape the collapsing building. She broke an arm and underwent pelvic surgery after being struck by falling concrete debris.
Her story became one of the most widely followed cases linked to the earthquake, which struck multiple regions of Colombia and left widespread destruction. For more details on her recovery and the broader tribute to the quake’s victims, read the full report at El Tiempo.
Source: Reapareció Ana María Saavedra, única trilliza que sobrevivió al terremoto de 7,4 en el que murió su familia (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Ferlinka Borzoi (Deb West), BY 2.0 (via Openverse).