In the wake of the catastrophic eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano on November 13, 1985, which obliterated the Colombian town of Armero and claimed approximately 25,000 lives, hundreds of children were separated from their families. Among them was Sergio Melendro, whose mother, Martha Lucía López, continues her relentless search for her son nearly four decades later. López, now 67, recently participated in a symbolic act of releasing a boat into the river, adorned with images of missing children, in a poignant plea for their return. ‘The only option we have is for them, the people who adopted them, to tell the true story and for them to come to us,’ López expressed. The tragedy, Colombia’s deadliest natural disaster, left Armero uninhabited and plunged countless families into a lifelong quest to reunite with their lost loved ones. On the night of the eruption, López and her husband were swept away by the torrential flow of lava and debris, leaving their five-year-old son Sergio behind. Despite years of searching and unverified leads, including a potential sighting in New Orleans, Sergio’s fate remains a mystery. The Armando Armero Foundation has documented 580 missing children, with 71 reportedly adopted. So far, only four have been located through DNA testing. Francisco González, the foundation’s director, emphasized the complexity of the situation, stating that children were taken by various means, including by civilians who acted out of compassion. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) has acknowledged receiving 170 children from Armero but is still investigating the number of adoptions, which were court-mandated at the time. Families have long relied on the ICBF’s ‘red book,’ a recently declassified record of some of the missing children, though it remains incomplete. Despite the passage of time, the families’ resolve remains unshaken. ‘It’s been 40 years of hope,’ said Benjamín Herrera, father of Óscar Fernando, who was just 14 months old at the time of the tragedy. ‘And we will wait as long as it takes.’
Parents search for children missing since a volcanic eruption in Colombia 40 years ago
