COMMUNITIES across York were plunged into shock today after a party of pilgrims from the city was feared caught up in a coach crash in which 12 people are believed to have died.

A party led by retired Methodist minister Graham Haslam, from York, was feared to be on a coach which crashed in Jordan, leaving nine Britons and three Jordanians dead.

The tourists, all thought to be elderly, were near the ancient city of Petra when their coach had a tyre blowout and hit a pick-up truck before somersaulting into the air.

A number of injured were taken to a local hospital, and then airlifted to a military hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman, where they were later visited by the Prince of Wales.

Five of the survivors were due to be airlifted to another hospital today.

The Britons in Mr Haslam's party were on the sixth day of an eight-day tour to Jordan organised by Christian tour operator Pilgrim Travel of Deal, Kent. They had spent two nights in Petra.

The tourists caught up in the crash were travelling on the dual carriageway Desert Highway between Wadi Rum and Madaba. The three Jordanians who died included the drivers of the bus and the pick-up truck.

Mr Haslam, from the Heworth area, is believed to have been leading a tour in the same area, which was widely advertised through Methodist churches in the York area.

He was accompanied by his wife, Margaret.

Evening Press sub-editor Bob Lawrence, who edits the Southlands Methodist Church newsletter Outlook, said Mr Haslam had organised the trip, which left last week.

"He had organised about five of these trips before, every year he would do one. He had put posters up in the church.

"He had retired but was still very active in the community. He had gone out there with his wife."

One of the victims is understood to be a woman in her 70s who lived in sheltered accommodation in York.

She used to work at confectionery giants Nestl, and according to the manager of the sheltered accommodation was well-travelled and had been on many trips before. One of those included a whale-watching holiday.

The manager, who asked not to be named, said: "Unusually before she left she made a point of saying goodbye to everybody. Her friends and neighbours are devastated."

It is believed that the woman was not married, but had a brother.

It is understood an elderly couple from the outskirts of York were killed in the tragedy having cancelled the trip last year because of the problems in the Gulf.

The retired couple, who have not been named, have two grown-up daughters and were frequent travellers.

Samir Samawi, who was visiting his nephew, the tour guide for the tourists, in the King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman, said: "He said he's OK."

The 36-year-old suffered a broken leg, bruises and cuts to his head.

He told his uncle: "The front tyre blew out and the bus after going into a truck somersaulted."

British Ambassador Chris Prentice said: "This is very sad news indeed. The Prince of Wales and Her Majesty Queen Rania (of Jordan) were both deeply shocked and saddened.

"It was a very serious and tragic accident. The main objective is to ensure the survivors are given the best possible treatment."

Pilgrim Travel was, in its own words, founded to "provide a unique personal service to leaders and pilgrims travelling on pilgrimages and sharing holidays to places of Christian interest".

The company arranges tours to a number of countries including Turkey, Spain, Austria, Finland, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Portugal.

Pilgrim Travel's Jordanian tour was from October 23 to 30.

David Symes. sales and marketing manager for the Jordan Tourism Board in London, said: "This has come as a great shock and our hearts go out to the families of those involved.

"The Desert Highway is a new, dual carriageway road, which is in excellent condition and the main road which connects the north and south of the country. Vehicles in Jordan are maintained to a very high standard."

Mr Symes said the number of UK visitors to Jordan had dropped in the early years of this decade following the events of September 11 and general Middle East unrest.

But British tourism to Jordan had picked up recently, with 35,000 Britons going to the country in the first eight months of this year.

Statement issued by the York and Hull District Methodist Church

The Reverend Stephen Burgess, chairman of the York and Hull District, said: "We are deeply saddened by the news from Jordan of the coach crash, and aware that many of the passengers are from the Methodist community here in York.

"I know that Methodists and others locally will be remembering those involved in their prayers, and will be offering support to families and friends at this terrible time.

"We also extend our prayers to our friends from the Newcastle area who have also been affected by this tragic news, and to all those caught up in these events."

The Reverend Terry Hurst, acting chairman of the Newcastle District, added: "The whole church is shocked and saddened by this news.

"Local Methodists and our fellow Christians in other congregations will do all we can to aid those affected by this terrible event, and we also remember in our prayers those from York who have also suffered.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are aiding the injured in Jordan, and those who are supporting and comforting friends and relatives here in Britain."

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

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

A Christian with a passion for travel

A METHODIST minister for 39 years, Graham Haslam is an experienced traveller, well-known for organising annual pilgrimages.

The Jordan tour was his fifth, following trips to the Holy Land, Turkey, Greece, Rome and Assisi.

Speaking to a local church magazine earlier this year, Mr Haslam said they got involved with tours "by accident".

He added: "During a sabbatical, we visited the Holy Land and then various church members wanted us to take them. But I never thought that further tours would be possible when I retired.

"Pilgrim Travel encourages us to continue and has been most helpful and generous with our groups."

Asked if he was apprehensive about taking large groups of people to the Middle East, Mr Haslam said: "Our tour company would not organise a tour to Jordan if it was not safe. It is a very responsible company and follows Foreign Office guide lines.

"Jordan needs tourism to help its economy - the government will ensure that people are safe and well looked after."

He described Jordan as the "forgotten Holy Land". The aim of the tour was to look at some of the sites associated with the Old Testament and visit Bethany beyond Jordan, where a site has been opened up to reveal the importance of the area in Christian times - in particular the cave of John the Baptist, the water system and the baptismal pool.

Mr Haslam studied physics at Leeds University, where he joined the Student Methodist Society. He went on to Sheffield to train as a teacher, but left to become a ministerial candidate.

He met his wife, Margaret, on a Sunday school teacher training course in Scotland. They married on August 12, 1961, and Graham was immediately posted to Coventry to start his first circuit.

After positions in Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Grimsby, Graham retired in 2000. He and his wife Margaret moved to York to be near their daughter, Sarah, a primary school teacher. They also have a son, Jonathan, who lives with his wife and two children in Tadcaster.

Mr Haslam lists his hobbies and interests as "pilgrimages, reading, piano, practical jobs around the garden, the grandchildren, Meccano and model railways".

Asked before the Jordan pilgrimage how he felt about his faith, Graham said: "My faith is in God through the Lord Jesus, not the church. His love for me is what keeps me going."

Firm specialises in Holy Land tours

PILGRIM Travel, the tour group with whom the York party was travelling around Jordan, is described as a leading organiser of pilgrimages and holidays to places of interest for Christians.

Milford H Lingard, the company's managing director, began his career by organising an American Gospel choir's tour around Europe, and decided to offer pilgrimages to the Holy Land after an emotional first visit he himself made.

The York pilgrims were being led by retired minister, the Rev Graham Haslam, on a tour called "The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan".

Their journey had already included tours of the Jordan Valley, the city of Amman, a Crusader castle at Kerak and a visit to the famous rose-red city of Petra, so called because of the colour of the sandstone from which it is carved.

Other highlights on their seven-day itinerary included a trip to Wadi Rum, the ancient home of Bedouin tribes in the Arabian desert.

Also on the agenda for the group were visits to Mount Nebo, the point from which God is supposed to have shown Moses the Promised Land, to the Dead Sea, and to areas reputed to have been home to St John the Baptist.

Petra attracts up to 3,000 visitors a day. They enter through a narrow passageway in the rock to encounter the dramatic Khazneh, or treasury, which appears seemingly out of nowhere right in front of them.

Once the capital of the Nabateaeans, a 3rd Century BC Arab dynasty, the city was forgotten for a millennium and rediscovered in 1812.

It featured in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Prince in tribute to crash victims

THE Prince of Wales has led tributes to those killed in the tragic bus crash in Jordan.

It is believed at least four people from York are among the dead.

Prince Charles visited survivors of the horrific accident who were being treated in the King Hussein Medical Centre in the capital Amman.

Accompanied by the Jordanian King Abdullah, Charles dashed to the hospital to be updated on the condition of the injured and to check on their progress.

"My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones in this ghastly accident," Charles said.

"My thoughts and prayers are with their families and those who are being treated by the excellent staff."

It is thought the party was being led by the retired Methodist minister Graham Haslam, whose wife, Margaret, was also believed to have been on the trip.

They worshipped at Heworth Methodist Church, where members' thoughts were on the crash at a prayer meeting held last night.

The minister, Rev Isabel Stuart, said: "We reached out to remember (the crash victims), whoever they might be."

The Lord Mayor of York, Coun Janet Looker, reacted with sadness to news that York people were believed to be among the dead.

She said: "It is always terrible when something like this happens. I am at an utter loss for words - it is almost impossible to imagine the shock for the families of those involved. I'm sure as the people of York learn about this accident they will be equally shocked, and will want to offer any support they can."

Stephen Burgess, Chair of York and Hull District Methodist Church, said: "We are deeply sad about the news from Jordan of the coach crash, and aware that many of the passengers are from the Methodist community here in York. I know that Methodists and others locally will be remembering those involved in their prayers, and will be offering support to families and friends at this terrible time."

Meanwhile, friends and neighbours of York pilgrims believed to have been with the party were today anxiously awaiting news.

Fiona O'Connor, 37, a neighbour of Graham Haslam and his wife Margaret, said: "They are the sort of people who will help you out with anything.

"The fence blew down in the garden and we helped them put it back up and Margaret came round with a shrub.

"They are kind, gentle people - very quiet.

"We talk over the fence and they are always very chatty and friendly.

"My son Rory was seven when we moved in here seven years ago and every year they always remember his birthday."

The Rev Stuart said: "I know Reverend Haslam and his wife Margaret, through the church and we have become friends since I came here 15 months ago.

"They are a friendly couple showing concern for everyone and are both active members of the congregation.

"I know that they are away at the moment and that they were gong to Jordan. Obviously there will be great concern as the church learn of the news and we want to offer our prayers and support to the family and friends of all those involved in the crash."

Pensioners Owen and Jean Dale of Dunnington are thought to be among the Pilgrim Tours party.

Neighbours John and Joan Portsmouth said Mrs Dale, who is a church warden at Dunnington Parish Church, and her husband often travelled overseas.

Mr Portsmouth said the couple had two daughters, who did not live locally.

He said: "Owen is a very quiet man and they are both typical of their generation. We're just waiting for news now."

His wife added: "Jean is bright as a button, they're both nice people and very friendly. I hope they're all right."

Another neighbour, who was very upset, said she had been watching every news bulletin for an update.

Last night the vicar of Dunnington Parish Church Reverend Michael Searle was awaiting news of the couple.

Updated: 14:11 Friday, October 29, 2004