A recently married couple were among them four people killed in a mid-air collision of helicopters over a crowded seafront at a popular Australian tourist hotspot on Monday.
The horror crash happened near Main Beach on Australia’s Gold Coast and involved two planes operated by Sea World Helicopters which were carrying a total of 13 people, including the pilots.
One of the pilots died in the crash, while the other miraculously landed his plane safely on a sandy outcrop despite damage from the collision.
“Given the damage done to the left forward part of the helicopter, where the pilot was seated, this was a remarkable achievement,” said Australian Transport Safety Board chief commissioner Angus Mitchell, whose office investigating the accident.
“So while it was very tragic that four people lost their lives and many people were grieving this morning, we could have had a much worse situation here, and the fact that a helicopter managed to land has been quite remarkable,” added Mitchell. . .
The victims have been identified as Diane Hughes, 57, and her husband Ron Hughes, 65, from the UK; Vanessa Tadros, 36, from Sydney, Australia, and Sea World Helicopters veteran pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40.
Three passengers, including two children, were seriously injured in the accident.
Tadros’ 10-year-old son remained in hospital in critical condition, as did Winnie de Silva, 33, from Geelong. De Silva’s 9-year-old son Leon was in stable condition, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
De Silva’s husband, Neil, wrote in a GoFundMe campaign description that his wife and son “are both alive but have a lot of surgery ahead of them.”
The Liverpool Hughes married in August 2021 and traveled to Australia to visit Ron’s adult daughter and her family, reported The Guardian.
Jenkinson had worked as chief pilot at Sea World Helicopters since 2019, and his friends praised his mentorship and the help he provided during the disastrous floods in New South Wales last year. The Gold Coast Bulletin reported that he welcomed a son with his partner in September.
Ritchie Gregg, a close friend of Jenkinson, described him as BBC News as a “gentle giant” and a “silent hero”.
“He was always there to help the community – from the bushfires a few years ago to the flood waters of last year,” Gregg said.
“If it wasn’t for him, a lot of people wouldn’t have gotten the help they got,” the pal added.
Jenkinson’s Airbus helicopter had been in the air for less than 20 seconds when it collided with Sea World’s second helicopter attempting to land.
Mitchell said the main rotor blade of Jenkinson’s plane made contact with the helicopter’s forward cockpit while descending.
“That in itself led to the separation of the main rotor and gearbox from this helicopter, which means that, tragically, it then had no lift and fell heavily to the ground,” he said. declared.
Passengers on the helicopter which landed safely included two couples in their 40s from New Zealand and a 27-year-old woman from Western Australia. Three of the five passengers remain hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after being showered with glass.
Investigators remained at the crash site, but a rising tide added to the difficulty of collecting evidence there.
Mitchell said investigators wanted to determine what was happening in the “cockpits at the time” of the collision.
Village Roadshow Theme Parks, owner of Sea World Helicopters, said in a statement that it was working with authorities while “offering its deepest condolences to those affected” by the tragedy.
The wreckage of a helicopter is seen following a collision on the Gold Coast, Australia.
This helicopter had five tourists and a pilot on board when it crashed.
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Police divers find debris as they search the Broadwater on the Gold Coast.
Airport workers prepare to remove a crashed Airbus helicopter.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also offered his “sincere condolences to those who are grieving”.
“Australia is shocked by the news of the terrible and tragic helicopter incident…on the Gold Coast,” he wrote on social media.
With post wires
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