A PLANE carrying thousands of tonnes of survival gear for the victims of a tropical cyclone in the South Pacific left RAF Brize Norton yesterday.

Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu and the surrounding archipelago of islands on Saturday with winds of up to 155mph and heavy rainfall causing widespread destruction.

The C-17 transport plane is carrying 1,640 shelter kits and 1,900 solar lanterns with phone chargers, funded by part of a £2m Government donation towards UN humanitarian aid efforts.

A humanitarian expert from the Department for International Development has also been deployed, while the RAF crew will carry out support flights over several days.

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Yesterday, the official death toll was eight but it was expected to grow as communications were restored.

Oxford-based Oxfam has a team on the ground and was flying more out to the region yesterday.

Oxfam’s executive director Helen Szoke said: “We hold grave fears for the people on these outer and remote islands.”

You can support Oxfam’s emergency response by donating now at donate.oxfam.org.uk/emergency/pam