New York toll climbs over 6,300

Terror in America: Victims

The Foreign Office lowered its estimate of the number of Britons missing and feared dead to about 200 yesterday as the names of two more UK victims were made public.

Calls from relatives who had initially reported loved ones missing, only for them to be found, have allowed diplomats to reduce the list of the missing from 500, the initial number feared dead.

But Rudolph Giuliani, the Mayor of New York, said last night that the total number of people missing and presumed dead at the World Trade Centre had climbed to 6,333 – an increase of more than 900 on the previous estimate. He added that the British consulate reported that 250 Britons were among the missing.

Foreign Office officials warned that the list of British nationals believed to have been killed in the assaults on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon would still fluctuate and final numbers were unlikely to be known for months.

A spokeswoman said yesterday: "We have asked relatives who supplied names immediately after the attacks to tell us when people have been found. The estimate now stands at around 200. However, these are not precise figures and they could still change. There will be a long and painstaking process before we can be sure of just how many people have been killed."

As the families of Britons continued to gather in New York, the number of those missing who have been named rose to 53.

David Rathkey, 47, who was working on the 83rd floor of the north tower of the World Trade Centre, phoned his American wife moments before the building collapsed. The computer sales consultant, who had three children, two of whom are identical twin boys, grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire, before moving to New Jersey in 1981 to pursue a career in banking.

In a statement, his family said: "He was loyal, thoughtful, with an infectious sense of humour. We are all devastated by the senseless tragedy that has overtaken him."

A Scottish-born healthcare consultant, Ian Gray, 55, was also named as one of the passengers on board American Airlines flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon. His wife, Ana Raley, was watching events unfold on television when she learnt of the attack on Washington and realised her husband was likely to have been on board the crashed flight.

The couple lived in the US capital where Mr Gray, who was born in Wick, Caithness, was a senior executive with a health company. His mother, Kathleen, who lives in Wick, said: "What can you do? Your thoughts are not coherent. We are taking it day by day; that's all you can do."

Further details also emerged of missing Britons, including Melanie de Vere, 30, who had been 15 minutes into her new job for the publisher Risk Waters when the first passenger jet struck. Her mother, Margaret Owen, from Hayling Island, Hampshire, watched the attacks on television, but did not realise the trade centre was where Melanie would be working. Mrs Owen said: "The last time I spoke to Melanie she sounded the happiest girl alive."

There were also tales of lucky escapes. A British journalist, Mark Lake, 28, who is due to get married tomorrow in New York said he only avoided being in the trade centre 10 days ago because he was late for a meeting.