Touching tributes have been paid to three members of British Airways cabin crew killed when the car they were travelling in collided with a lorry near Heathrow airport on New Year’s Eve (31 December).
The crash, involving a white Toyota Yaris and dnata HGV, happened at the junction of Bedfont Road and Long Lane at 11.39pm on Tuesday, Surrey Police has confirmed.
Two men aged 25 and 23 and a 20-year-old woman, all travelling in the Yaris, died at the scene. A fourth passenger, a 25-year-old woman, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The two men have been named in the national press as Joe Finnis and Dominic Fell. All four BA staff involved are understood to be part of BA’s mixed fleet cabin crew.
British Airways said in a statement it was "deeply saddened" to learn of the tragedy, adding its thoughts were with their family and friends, whom the carrier says it is lending its support.
MORE: British Airways cabin crew killed in New Year’s Eve car crash
A fundraising page, set up by BA cabin crew colleague Stephen Crook on New Year’s Day, had raised just shy of £40,000 as of 8.30am on Thursday (2 January) via nearly 3,000 donors.
"On New Year’s Eve, we lost three fellow mixed fleet crew in a fatal car crash, and another is in hospital in a serious condition," wrote Crook. "I have set up this fund to raise money for the families of the four crew members involved.
"I don’t know if I knew these individuals personally, but at mixed fleet, we are all one large family and when times are tough, we pull together and look out for one another like no other family can."
Crook added he had approached BA for help liaising with those families affected to distribute the funds. "I know it is January and I know money is tight but I know that as a fleet, we will pull together and make this happen," said Crook. "Rest in peace guys, go fly the skies eternal."