Daughter pleads for help to recover mother's body after Colombia earthquake

A distressing scene unfolded in Cali, Colombia, following a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake, as a young woman named Gissela made an emotional public plea to recover her mother's body. Her mother, Merzory, died while descending the stairs of a building in the Chiminangos II neighborhood during the tremor.

Gissela shared her family's anguish in a viral video, explaining that recovery efforts were focused on locating survivors trapped in the rubble. While she understood the priority of rescue teams, she highlighted the agonizing wait and the disrespectful behavior of onlookers who were taking photos and videos of her deceased mother.

"Everyone comes to take photos, so I need you to please help us," Gissela pleaded in the video, expressing her family's pain at the circulation of images of her mother. "We as a family want the body, we want to grieve as we should."

Her plea gained traction, leading to reports of heavy machinery, including a crane, arriving at the site to assist in the recovery operation. Gissela later confirmed via social media that the process to retrieve her mother's body had begun, though she noted the complexity of the task due to the building's damaged state. The incident underscored the dual challenges faced by victims of natural disasters: the immediate trauma of loss and the struggle for dignity in the aftermath.