Eva is an orphaned storyteller and the partner of reporter Rolf Carlé. Watching from a distance, she serves as an active observer of the unfolding natural disaster. She attempts to mobilize resources by calling politicians and military officials to secure a water pump for the rescue effort. Her emotional connection to Rolf allows her to sense his internal state even through the television screen.

Azucena is a 13-year-old girl caught in the quicksand-like mud of a massive landslide that destroyed her village. Unable to move because the submerged ruins of her home trap her legs, she becomes the focal point of international media coverage. Despite her terrifying circumstances, she displays surprising patience and shares memories of her rural life with the reporter who stays by her side.

Rolf is a middle-aged, tenacious journalist known for covering battles and catastrophes with objective distance. When he encounters a trapped girl named Azucena, he abandons his professional detachment to assist in her rescue. As he stays by her side in the mud, the stressful situation triggers difficult memories from his own childhood during World War II.

Katharina is Rolf's younger sister who had a developmental disability. She exists in the narrative through Rolf's memories of their childhood in Europe during World War II, a time marked by severe hardship and an abusive home environment.