Facebook campaign for British man paralyzed in Colombia

A campaign has been launched to raise money to fly a 32-year-old British man, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after an accident in Colombia, back to the UK.

Daniel Eley was injured while diving in a river in southern Colombia, near the Brazilian border, on New Years Day. He is currently in hospital in Bogota, but his insurance does not cover the £90,000 (US$145,000) cost of flying him back to the UK in an air ambulance.

The campaign by his friends and family on Facebook and other internet sites has raised £22,000 so far.

Eley had worked in Latin America for several years, most recently on an 18-month volunteer project in Guatemala, and had planned to begin a teaching job in Cali in the new year.

“He is well aware of what’s being done to help him. It’s done a huge amount for his morale and frankly I think it’s the reason he survived. It’s curious that out of this something quite inspiring is happening,” Diana Clift, the Facebook group’s founder, told UK paper the Daily Telegraph.

Donations can be made here.

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