(WSVN) - Years after Cuba’s deadliest plane crash, the sole survivor is sharing her progress and pain.
Mailén Díaz Almaguer was the only person to make it out alive after the plane crashed in 2018, killing over 100 people — including her husband.
Speaking in Spanish, she provided an update on her ongoing recovery and revealed why she believes she survived the horrific event.
“I don’t remember anything from the plane that day. I do remember details from the airport, but of the impact, nothing,” she said in Spanish.
Díaz Almaguer said she remembers being in the hospital and learning of the crash. She suffered paralysis in both legs, and doctors would need to amputate her lower left leg.
“I was treated and am treated by a brilliant doctor, but they definitely admit that I am alive by a miracle from God. It’s not something you see every day,” she said.
Since the crash, Díaz Almaguer said, she’s undergone several operations and does physical therapy for many hours every day. Still, she she hopes to travel outside of Cuba for additional treatment.
Díaz Almaguer credits her faith with saving her life and is studying to be a seminarian in the Methodist church in Cuba.
Her story has repeated itself in recent months. Back in June, a plane crash in India left only one survivor. She said hearing about it affected her deeply, and she had a message to her fellow survivor.
“God has a purpose for our lives ,and by being here, we have to continue and not quit. Continue, search and fight, until we discover what that purpose is,” she said.
Despite her injuries and her physical challenges, Díaz Almaguer said she has learned to drive and resumed traveling by plane.
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