Amid muddy floodwaters and swirling debris, Evangelina Chamorro Díaz emerged with only a few minor injuries.
Dramatic footage captured by local man Christian Jesus Hidalgo Medina showed her harrowing escape. The surprising moment when Díaz seemingly emerged out of nowhere occurred when Medina was filming muddy floodwaters cascading through Punta Hermosa near Lima, Peru.
The video initially shows a cow (that eventually reached safety) struggling to unstick its legs from fast-moving mud and water. Sharp wooden pallets and a large shipping container are seen being swept downstream, pulled forcefully by the floodwaters.
The shipping container, an object that could have crushed whoever crossed its path, was perhaps a lifesaver. The video shows the moment when it becomes lodged under an overpass, slowing the fast-moving water and allowing Chamorro to grab hold of a large trunk and pull herself from its grip.
“She is a little confused, but she is very well and will recover because she is a warrior and thank God nothing serious happened,” Peru’s health minister Patricia Garcia told The Guardian.
In a press conference with local media, Medina claimed that Chamorro does not remember any of her ordeal. She told Peru’s RPP radio that she and her husband had been feeding their pigs when they were pulled into a landslide. In an attempt to escape, they climbed a tree but were thrown back into the water and separated when the tree snapped.