THE daughter of a mother-of-six killed in a coach crash in Saudi Arabia has described her as ‘the life and soul’ of any occasion.

Raj Begum Hussain died after a petrol tanker struck a coach she was in travelling from Mecca to Medina on Saturday.

The grandmother-of-13 was one of four to have died, along with an elderly woman and her adult son and an elderly man, all from Preston.

The group were on the trip booked through Hashim Travel, based in Audley Range, Blackburn.

Nisbah Hussain, Mrs Hussain’s daughter, said her mother was kind, giving and adventurous.

Nisbah posted on Facebook: “This weekend a light left our lives forever.

“My mum passed away at the weekend leaving behind a void which I’m not sure can ever be filled.

“My mum was the life and soul of any occasion.

“All weekend we have had so many people come to meet my family to pay their respects and they all had stories to tell of her, so many she met whilst travelling that we were all a little overwhelmed with how she had left a lasting impression on hundreds of lives.

“I will miss you always, you may be gone but you will never, ever be forgotten. We will strive to leave the world a better place than we found it, just like you did, Love you always.”

Members of Mrs Hussain family flew out to Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Community leaders across the region paid their respects to the family.

Rt Rev Julian Henderson, the bishop of Blackburn and the Rt Rev Philip North, the bishop of Burnley, said in a joint statement: “Christians understand the importance of making a pilgrimage - it is a time of deep significance for those making the journey.

“For such a terrible incident to occur at this of all times is particularly harrowing.”

Other passengers on the coach were from Accrington, Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Khalid Pervez, from the association of British Hujjaj UK, said: “It is highly regrettable that every year a large number of innocent pilgrims are losing their precious lives in such terrible circumstances.”