Our thoughts are with you

The York and Hull District Methodists said in a statement on their website that Margaret Haslam, the wife of the tour group leader and retired minister Graham Haslam, was believed to be among those who lost their lives.

They added that Owen and Jean Dale, a couple from Dunnington, and Hilda Brisby, a woman in her 70s from York, were believed to be the other three fatalities.

There is still no information about the condition of Mr Haslam.

The Foreign Office has refused to comment on the names released by the church. A spokeswoman said: "It would be premature to name them before we have received official confirmation."

Anxious families and friends said prayers and waited for news of the victims, who would have flown home today after an eight-day pilgrimage to Jordan.

The trip turned to tragedy when their coach ploughed into a pick-up truck after one of its tyres burst as they travelled from ancient Petra on Thursday.

Mr Haslam was leading the pilgrimage, organised by Christian tour operator Pilgrim Travel.

The Rev Isabel Stuart, minister of Heworth Methodist Church, where the couple and Mrs Brisby worship, said prayers would be said by the congregation tomorrow.

In Dunnington, neighbours and friends were grieving for Mr and Mrs Dale, who were both members of St Nicholas' Church.

But there was relief that another local couple, Roger and Trisha Brown, were among the nine British survivors.

Saying prayers for the victims

YORK friends and neighbours of those killed and hurt in the crash are keeping them in their thoughts.

The Rev Isobel Stuart, minister at Heworth Methodist Church, urged parishioners to pray for members of her flock and others who were feared dead or injured.

She said they would be remembered officially at weekend services: "On Sunday evening, worshippers will be saying prayers for all those involved."

Yesterday at a press conference she said she had no official news of the three members of her congregation caught up in the tragedy.

But she said she could confirm that the Jordan trip had been organised by a member of her congregation, the retired Methodist minister Graham Haslam.

She said: "It is with shock that we respond today and our hearts go out to all involved, particularly their family and friends."

Ms Stuart said worshippers were looking to their Christian faith to help them through this difficult time.

"It is these times in particular when we find ourselves with nothing else to hold on to and we are completely dependant on Him for strength and the gift of compassion."

Mr Haslam and his wife, Margaret, worshipped at the Heworth church, along with former secretary Hilda Brisby.

All three are believed to have been on the coach when it ploughed into a truck head on.

The Rev Isobel Stuart, who has been at the church for 15 months, said the Haslams and Mrs Brisby were "held in high regard for their Christian service, and their care and compassion".

Miss Brisby was an unmarried pensioner in her 70s who had been on many trips before.

At her sheltered housing accommodation near York Hospital, no one was available for comment.

However, the warden, Sandra Simpson, said the accommodation had been contacted by government officials asking to speak to relatives of Ms Brisby, a former secretary for Nestl.

"Friends and neighbours are obviously upset by the news from Jordan," she said.

Kent-based trip organisers Pilgrim Travel said that the names of the dead would be released "as soon as all next of kin have been informed and the formal identification process has been completed by the Jordanian authorities".

'We never imagined it would end like this'

A YORK woman unaccounted for when her husband spoke to reporters in Jordan yesterday is safe and recovering from injuries suffered in the crash, it has emerged.

Roger and Trisha Brown, of Dunnington, had been travelling on the ill-fated trip and were caught up in the accident on Thursday.

The couple are among nine injured Britons being treated at the King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman.

One person is in intensive care and was last night described as being in a stable condition.

When Roger spoke to reporters he told them he did not know where his wife was or how she had fared after the crash. But shortly afterwards she was found, having suffered minor injuries.

She told reporters the burst tyre which led to Thursday's fatal accident was the second suffered by the vehicle that day.

"We never imagined it would end like this," said Mrs Brown.

"We had a blow-out in the morning and the tyre got changed at a garage. I thought, 'right, that's done' and we set off again. The next thing I knew, there was a bang and the coach veered to the centre," said Mrs Brown.

"It was awful, really awful. I was sitting in the aisle seat and I think I must have been thrown through the window because I was lying outside in the road.

"We were having a really nice holiday."

Mr Brown, who suffered a scalp wound and a broken collarbone, said: "On the same morning the tyre blew, the tread of a rear tyre came off - you know when the tread flaps. That happened earlier that day and the driver changed the wheel."

Phil Lynes, a director of the Christian tour operator, said Pilgrim Travel was working closely with the authorities in Jordan and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to provide as much information and support as possible to people affected.

"We are deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic accident in Jordan and our thoughts and prayers go out to the relatives of the deceased and injured," he said.

Mr Lynes added: "I would like to stress that this has been a tragic accident that could have occurred anywhere.

"The bus used by Pilgrim Travel (UK) is part of a fleet approved by the Jordanian Ministries of Transport and Tourism for the transport of tourists and meets all national safety standards."

Today, Methodist ministers paid tribute to those who died.

The Rev Will Morrey, president of the Methodist Conference and the Rev David Deeks, general secretary of the Methodist Church, said: "The whole Methodist Church in Britain is greatly saddened and shocked by this terrible news.

"Our sympathy and prayers are extended to all involved, and especially those in York & Hull and Newcastle who are working to support and help the families and friends of the bereaved and injured.

"The whole church will continue to give all it can in practical, spiritual and pastoral care.

"As a church we have lost good friends and beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are deeply upset by this news."

Relatives of members of the pilgrimage who are in need of support of counselling can phone 020 8907 3530 over the weekend or 020 7486 5502 from Monday.

Neighbours in shock at death of 'lovely couple'

Neighbours of the Dunnington couple the Methodist church has named as among the dead have spoken of their sorrow at the news.

The shocked friends of Owen and Jean Dale said they were told the couple died instantly in the head-on smash.

John Portsmouth, a neighbour of the couple for more than 30 years, said he heard the grim news on Thursday night.

Mr and Mrs Dale, who have two grown-up daughters, were seasoned travellers, Mr Portsmouth said. "They were a lovely, decent, friendly couple. We weren't bosom buddies, but I knew them well enough to say they were a lovely couple.

"I was told they were killed instantly on impact. It is absolutely shocking."

Mr Portsmouth said Mr Dale was a former railwayman who used to work in a signals department before he retired when the network was privatised. He said his wife was a former school teacher and churchwarden at St Nicholas's Church in Dunnington.

He said the couple had two grown-up daughters, Fiona and Alison, who no longer lived in the area. "It will be particularly hard for the girls. I believe they are returning to York today," he said.

He said the couple originally came from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, but moved to Dunnington in the early 1970s.

At their home, a car remained on the drive and the curtains were drawn.

Earlier, Mr Portsmouth said his neighbours had cancelled a similar trip last year because of problems in the Gulf, but were very much looking forward to their trip to Jordan.

Friends killed

Also among those who died in the tragedy were two members of church communities in Lincolnshire.

Neighbours named one of the casualties as being Nancy Ansbro, who came from Horncastle Road, Louth, Lincolnshire.

She was a Roman Catholic and a friend of another Louth resident, Hazel Clemmet, who also died in the crash.

Hazel Clemmet was a Methodist in Louth, the Lincolnshire town where trip organiser Graham Haslam served as a minister before retiring to York in 2000.

Daughters' grief at death of parents

The daughters of a couple killed in the Jordan coach crash today spoke of their loss.

The couple's three daughters, Alison Atkinson, Celia Kellett and Rosie Hetherington, expressed their deep shock at the death of their parents, Richard and Angela Fothergill, from Gosforth, Newcastle.

"How can a few words express our sense of loss and shock at this time?" they said in a statement issued by police.

"Our parents have been a source of constant love, support and encouragement throughout our lives and at the moment it is too difficult to imagine a future without them.

"However, we don't want them to be remembered for their tragic death, but for the life that they lived.

"We have so many happy memories of laughter and fun that we shared as a family, right up until they left for Jordan."

Mr Fothergill, 67, and his wife Angela, 65, had been married more than 40 years.

Updated: 09:38 Saturday, October 30, 2004