UK raises £19 mn in one day

London: The British public and the government raised 19 million pounds in one day for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Nepal.

The British public donated over 14 million pounds to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Nepal Earthquake Appeal, matched by another 5 million pounds by the UK government in one day after it was launched on April 28 night.

DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said, "People in the UK have, once again, shown their generosity by responding to help those whose lives have been devastated by disaster."

Donations for Nepal have exceeded the amounts raised in the first day of campaigning for the Philippines Typhoon, the East Africa Crisis, the Haiti Earthquake and the Pakistan floods. The funds will help scale up efforts to reach more of the estimated eight million people affected by Saturday's earthquake.

The 7.8-magnitude quake killed nearly 6,000 people, and injured at least 11,000. The UN says more than eight million people have been affected by the quake.

Meanwhile, a plane carrying 120 British people caught up in the earthquake has arrived back in the UK.

There were emotional scenes as family members greeted relatives off the aid flight, which landed at Stansted Airport in the early hours of Thursday.

The Foreign Office has confirmed that one Briton was among the victims. It is investigating reports about the death of another citizen.