Venezuela quakes leave at least 200 amputees, NGO says

At least 200 people have undergone amputations after Venezuela's June 24 twin earthquakes, almost half of them minors, according to the Dos Santos Foundation, as survivors face the cost of prosthetics after the disaster.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes killed more than 6,300 people and injured almost 18,000.

Teenage athlete Dennis Castillo, 17, spent 28 hours trapped under rubble in La Guaira state with a beam crushing her left leg. She later had the leg amputated.

Her father, Deinnis Castillo, said their more than 10-story building collapsed as they were going downstairs before a planned run. He said his daughter accepted surgery after being told she might die without it.

The Dos Santos Foundation is raising money for prosthetics and has collected $453,000 toward a $2 million target. Some survivors are also using GoFundMe to seek help buying prosthetics that cost between $3,500 and $30,000.

Juan Pablo Dos Santos, the foundation's director and himself a double amputee, said it was important for new amputees to spend time with people who had already adapted to life after limb loss.

Bianca Damaso, a physician specializing in prosthetics, said some 20 quake victims had received donations from the initiative and another 10 were receiving assistance.