Church members mourn six who died in bus crash

Funeral services for six of the 17 who died in Friday's bus crash were held today in Texas. The bus was headed toward the annual Marian Days observance in Carthage:

Thanh Pham, whose friend's mother was among those who died, said that although the community is saddened by the loss of the six, the dead "are in a better place."

"They were all prepared to be there," Pham said.

The six were among 17 people who died early Friday when the bus carrying them to a religious festival in Missouri crashed near Sherman, near the Texas-Oklahoma border.

Pham said she will also miss Phero Phaolo Nguyen Than Khiem, who was an adviser for a youth group she was involved in at the church.

"He always takes care of us," she said, her voice shaking. "He is like a father to all of us."

The 23-year-old said she traveled from the Grand Cayman Islands, where she is going to medical school, after she heard about the accident.

Mourners wept before photos of Phuy Pham Thu, a 27-year-old who was president of the youth group at the church.

"When I first moved (to Houston) from Victoria, she was the first friend I met," Pham said. "She was too sweet, always volunteering."

Theresa Thuong, 14, remembered her as "very beautiful, very religious."