UK charities launch Venezuela earthquakes appeal

The UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched an appeal to help the thousands of people injured and displaced by Venezuela's powerful twin earthquakes.

Fifteen UK aid agencies including the British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children have come together to ask the public to donate.

More than 1,700 people have died since the earthquakes struck within seconds of each other last Wednesday, a figure the United Nations (UN) has said will "unavoidably" rise. Tens of thousands of people are still believed to be missing.

The charities said funds were required to deliver aid to survivors who "urgently need shelter, food and water".

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez has called the earthquakes the "most brutal natural catastrophe" in the country's history.

At least 5,000 people have been injured since the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes struck near the capital Caracas, reducing hundreds of buildings to rubble and prompting officials to declare a state of emergency.

Hospitals have been overwhelmed by a shortage of critical supplies and demand for aid has surged among those who have been rendered homeless.

Some 2,500 buildings have been affected, the majority of which have completely collapsed, according to the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Venezuela.

Several countries including the UK have deployed search and rescue teams to try to reach survivors, as well as medical and humanitarian personnel.

Residents in some devastated areas have been left to conduct much of the search operation themselves in the absence of significant government support.

Both the UN and the US Geological Survey have projected that the death toll could reach 10,000.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the money raised by the appeal would be matched by the government up to £2m.

"The people of Venezuela desperately need urgent humanitarian support from across the globe," she said.

The DEC brings 15 leading UK aid charities together to provide and deliver aid.

The appeal will be broadcast on the BBC and other media on Wednesday.