A flight filled with aid packages is headed to Colombia from South Florida, days after a strong earthquake devastated parts of the country. Sixty tons of donated supplies were loaded onto a cargo plane on Friday at Miami International Airport that will land in the city of Cali to help those affec ted. Avianca Cargo orchestrated the flight in partnership with the City of Doral and the Global Empowerment Mission. “For the rest of the weekend, we’ll have all of our flights open on the passenger side to move freight from Miami to every city in Colombia,” said Juan Correa, Chief Commercial Officer at Avianca Cargo. Since Monday, GEM has been collecting and packaging supplies as residents across South Florida join in the effort to help their family, friends, or even strangers back in the South American country. “We have multiple ground zeros. So we are deploying multiple teams to the areas of disaster,” said Francine Delarosa with Global Empowerment Mission. On the streets of Pereira, desperate search and rescue operations remain underway as families live in tents since losing their homes in the disaster. “I lost everything because all of this was destroyed, everything from the business, my motorcycle, everything was crushed, but I’m alive,” said a local in Pereira in Spanish. Back in South Florida, local officials say they hope loved ones can continue finding people alive under the rubble. “They’re still searching for loved ones in the rubble. There’s still hope of finding people,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. As for the aid shipments, more of them are planned in the coming days. The main supplies needed, according to officials, are for those who lost their homes. “In addition to the family necessities that are boarded on these pallets, we’ve got tents, tarps, blankets, sleeping bags, first aid kits and personal hygiene. All essential items so we can continue to distribute them to the areas that are most needed,” said Delarosa. ...read more read less