DNA testing reunites Colombian sisters after 30 years

Jacqueline Vasquez Sanchez, left, and her sister Lorena Sanchez, right, smile during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. The reunited sisters were separated more than 30 years ago, when on November 13, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted triggering a deluge of mud and debris that buried the town of Armero, killing more than 25,000 people in and around the town. AP

BOGOTA, Colombia — Two sisters separated as young children after an avalanche destroyed their hometown in Colombia have been reunited three decades later.

Yaqueline Vasquez Sanchez and Lorena Sanchez were separated in 1985 when a volcano erupted, triggering the avalanche that killed at least 20,000 people. The two sisters were adopted by separate families and didn’t know each other’s fate.

Lorena spent years investigating her origins and was finally reunited with her sister through a combination of DNA testing, a Facebook entreaty and a foundation dedicated to helping the victims of the catastrophe.

They met each other as adults for the first time Thursday. The sisters, aged 33 and 39, hugged and marveled at their physical resemblance.

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