Sole survivor of Cali earthquake family finds purpose in life

Ana María Saavedra, 23, is hailed as a miracle survivor after being the only person from her family and her four-story building to emerge alive from a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake that devastated parts of Cali on August 10. While recovering in a Cali hospital from a fractured arm and pelvis, she is grappling with the immense loss of her entire immediate family and their home.

“

She is the miracle. She has been informed that the family had passed away. She, amidst everything she went through, managed to see how the building was left, knows the dimension of the situation, is clear that she has a great desire to live and that she survived because she has a very big life purpose.

Her sisters, Isabella and Sofía, parents Jairo and Vicky, and uncle Diego, along with their dog Uci, were all killed when their building collapsed. Saavedra recounted to her cousin, Carlos Saavedra, that she feels her survival is not by chance but because she has a significant purpose in life. "She is the miracle. She has been informed that the family had passed away. She, amidst everything she went through, managed to see how the building was left, knows the dimension of the situation, is clear that she has a great desire to live and that she survived because she has a very big life purpose," Carlos said.

The tragedy struck as Ana María and her triplet sisters were preparing to go to work. She was near the apartment's exit when the building began to shake. A heavy wooden door fell, trapping her in a void created by the collapsing structure. Her cries for help were heard, and she was quickly transported to a hospital. Doctors expect her to walk again within two weeks, provided her recovery from pelvic surgery continues as planned.

“

Ana María is doing very well, recovering from her surgery, we are waiting for her to be discharged.

Her cousin explained that the way the building collapsed created a triangular space, and despite the devastation, Ana María was in a superficial part of the collapse, which allowed her to survive. Her parents were trapped in their rooms, her uncle and one sister on the stairs, and the other sister in the building's hall. The building, constructed in the 1980s, was where the Saavedra Caicedo family lived on the second floor.

“

She was near the apartment exit. There was a thick cedar wood door. When the building collapsed, some walls created the triangle space, and despite the collapse, she remained in that higher, superficial part of the collapse, and that's what allowed her to survive.