Earthquake aid lands in Venezuela after appeal

A woman who collected a tonne of aid for victims of June's earthquakes in Venezuela has said she felt "incredibly emotional" to see footage of the aircraft touching down and unloading in Caracas.

Karolin De Sousa collected medical supplies, camping equipment and other items in Bournemouth, Dorset, and had been appealing for an aircraft to transport them.

De Sousa, a former doctor in Venezuela, said after "stress, tears and setbacks", humanitarian organisation Airlink had taken the supplies at no cost to the Venezuelan capital, with the plane landing at noon on Friday.

She said everyone who donated towards the cost of transportation had been refunded.

More than 6,000 people died and 18,000 people were left homeless following the twin quakes, which struck within seconds of each other on 24 June.

De Sousa said life for her family and friends since the disaster was "like a horror movie".

Desperate to help, she set up collection points in the Bournemouth area, including one at Venezuelan restaurant Uncle Will.

Posting on social media, she said the plane had landed safely in Aeropuerto Internacional Simón Bolivar de Maiquetía on Friday.

"After weeks of logistics, packing, sorting, paperwork and determination, the donations are now on Venezuelan soil," she said.

"Watching the plane land and seeing our pallets being unloaded made me incredibly emotional.

"There were many tears."

De Sousa thanked everyone who helped by offering storage, collection points and parking, along with the volunteers who collected, packed and transported donations, and for the introductions that ultimately led to the offer of help by Airlink.

"This was never the work of one person or one organisation," she said. "It happened because people chose to help, often asking for absolutely nothing in return."

A separate appeal for aid has been launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee on behalf of 15 UK aid charities.