'It's hard to imagine life without her': Father's tribute to selfless UN worker, 36, among seven Brits killed

'It's hard to imagine life without her': Father's tribute to selfless UN worker, 36, among seven Brits killed in Ethiopian Airlines crash as other airlines ground identical Boeing 737 Max 8s amid safety fears

  • Animal welfare campaigner Joanna Toole, 36, was one of seven British victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash
  • All 149 passengers and eight crew were killed when the Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed within minutes of take-off
  • Flight-tracking data showed the plane's speed fluctuating wildly in the last seconds before Sunday's crash
  • Ms Toole was one of a group of UN workers on board travelling to an environment conference in Nairobi 
  • Polar expert Sarah Auffret - a French-British dual national - and ex-Hull resident Joseph Waithaka also died 
  • China and Ethiopian Airlines have now grounded all 737 Max 8s - and Boeing faces questions about disaster
  • The father of a UN animal welfare worker who died in the Ethiopian air disaster has described her as a 'very soft and loving person' and said: 'It's hard to imagine life without her'. 
    Joanna Toole, 36, was one of the 157 passengers and crew who were killed when the Boeing jet crashed within minutes of take-off from Addis Ababa yesterday morning. At least 12 passengers, including Ms Toole, from Exmouth, Devon, were travelling to Nairobi for a UN environment gathering. 
    On Twitter she described herself as an 'ocean protectionist, lover of yoga and vegan foodie' who was 'passionate' about the Earth. 
    US plane maker Boeing is now facing questions about the crash - which is the second in five months involving a 737 Max 8. In October, 189 people were killed in the Lion Air tragedy in Indonesia.  
    In response to yesterday's crash, China and Ethiopian Airlines have now grounded all planes of the same model.
    Ethiopian Airlines said seven Britons, one Irishman, 18 Canadians and eight Americans were among 149 passengers and eight crew killed when the plane came down near the town of Bishoftu. 
    Polar expert Sarah Auffret - a British-French dual national - and former Hull resident Joseph Waithaka were also named as victims.
    Flight-tracking data showed the plane's vertical speed had fluctuated wildly in the last seconds before the crash, though experts say it is too early to say what caused the disaster. 
    Ms Toole's father Adrian told Sky News: 'It's dreadful she won't be able to carry on her work. I don't think I'll ever give up expecting her to ring.'
    He also revealed his daughter kept homing pigeons and pet rats and would travel to the Faroe Islands in a bid to prevent whaling.
    Sarah Auffret (pictured), a French-British dual national, has been identified as a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302
    Sarah Auffret (pictured), a French-British dual national, has been identified as a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302
    Irishman Michael Ryan (pictured) who worked for the UN's World Food Programme was another of the 149 passengers killed
    Kenyan-British dual national Joseph Waithaka, pictured, was killed in the crash on his way home from visiting relatives in Hull
    Irishman Michael Ryan (pictured left), who worked for the UN's World Food Programme, and Kenyan-British dual national Joseph Waithaka  (right) - who used to live in Hull - were also among the 149 passengers killed 
    Members of the search and rescue mission look for dead bodies of passengers at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines crash
    Members of the search and rescue mission look for dead bodies of passengers at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines crash
    Rescue workers collect bodies in bags at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Bishoftu following Sunday's air disaster
    Rescue workers collect bodies in bags at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Bishoftu following Sunday's air disaster
    Wreckage lies at the crash site after the Ethiopian Airlines jet came down within minutes of take-off on Sunday morning
    Wreckage lies at the crash site after the Ethiopian Airlines jet came down within minutes of take-off on Sunday morning 
  • Mr Toole said she had flown around the world but added: 'Personally I never wanted her to be on a single one of those planes'. 
    He said: 'Joanna's work was not a job - it was her vocation. She never really wanted to do anything else but work in animal welfare since she was a child.
    'Somehow that work took her into the international sphere and for the last 15 years she has been working for international animal welfare organisations.
    'That involves a lot of travelling around the world - although personally I never wanted her to be on a single one of those planes.
    'I'm an environmental campaigner myself, so partly it was because of the damage to the environment but also because it's a dangerous occupation to be flying. Up until now she had been lucky.
    'Joanna was a very soft and loving person. Everybody was very proud of her and the work she did. We're still in a state of shock. 
    'Joanna was genuinely one of those people who you never heard a bad word about. She was one of those people who burned the candle at both ends.  
    'She never had any doubt that she wanted to work in animal welfare and on the international scene, that meant a lot of travel. It's hard to imagine life without her.'
    One of her UN colleagues, Manuel Barange, called her a 'wonderful human being who loved her work with a passion', saying he was 'so profoundly sad and lost for words' at the news of her death. 
    According to her LinkedIn page she had worked for the UN since 2016, living in Rome where she recently set up home with her partner.  
    She previously worked at World Animal Protection and Animal Defenders International, after graduating from Anglia Ruskin University in 2004 with a degree in Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Biology. 
    In a blog she wrote when she worked for WAP she described herself as a keen diver, adding: 'I'm committed to the protection of all animals, but the underwater world and the animals within it are my greatest passion.' 
    Polar expert Sarah Auffret, who had French and British dual nationality, was also killed in the crash. Colleagues paid tribute to her as a 'true friend and beloved colleague'.  
    'Words cannot describe the sorrow and despair we feel,' her employers at the Norway-based Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators said. 
    Raised in Brittany, the environmental agent was leading AECO's efforts to cut back single-use plastics on Arctic expeditions and coordinating beach clean-ups. 
    Another victim, 55-year-old Joseph Waithaka, lived in Hull for more than a decade before returning to his native Kenya in 2015. The BBC reported he had dual Kenyan and British citizenship. 
    He had been visiting his wife and children, who still live in Hull, and was on his way back to Kenya via Ethiopia when he boarded the doomed flight aboard the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet.
    Mr Waithaka worked for the probation service during his time in Hull and his family said he had 'helped so many people' during his time in England. 
    His son, Ben Kuria, said: 'My dad was a private man but he also had a pastoral heart. He really championed people. He really helped people realise their potential. 
    'He would tell stories which would inspire the young people he was helping who were not at a great time in their lives. 

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