Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Chief pilot Ash Jenkinson, Ron and Diane Hughes and Vanessa Tadros, identified as victims who got killed and died in Two Eurocopter EC 130B4 helicopters operating for Sea World Helicopters collide midair on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Two Eurocopter EC 130B4 helicopters operating for Sea World Helicopters collide midair on Australia’s Gold Coast. Four people have been killed and several others are in a critical condition.
Footage has emerged of the moment two helicopters collided into one another on the Gold Coast above a packed theme park in a freak accident that left four dead.
The tragic incident occurred on Monday at about 2pm. All the deaths happened in the same helicopter which crashed onto a sandbar after impact. The three remaining passengers are in a critical condition. All six passengers in the other helicopter, which was able to land, survived with five suffering minor injuries.
Queensland Police has said it appeared the collision occurred as one aircraft was taking off and the other landing from a heliport on Main Beach.
The moment of impact, seen by news.com.au, shows one helicopter moving at some speed, hitting the top of another, which appears to be moving only slowly.
The chopper struck from above drops suddenly from the sky and slams into the beach.
The other aircraft remains airborne momentarily before also crash landing on the sand.
The pilot who lost his life after the collision between the two Sea World tour helicopters has been identified as Ashley Jenkinson, a respected figure in the aviation industry.
Mr Jenkinson worked as a chief pilot at Sea World Helicopters.Two of the victims onboard – who have not yet been named – were UK citizens, a foreign office spokesperson told the BBC.
They said officials were supporting their families and would remain “in contact with the local authorities”.
The three passengers who survived the initial crash from his aircraft – a woman and two young boys – were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition.
Footage shown to Channel 9 has shown the moments leading up to the crash.
Bystanders next to the heliport were filming the takeoff and landing on their phones when the incident occurred.
One child watching says “Is he going to crash?” just a few seconds before impact.
Others can be heard saying “no” as the tragedy unfolds. One helicopter landed safely on a sandbank, but debris from the other was spread across an area police described as difficult to access.
The dead and three most seriously injured people were all passengers in the crashed helicopter.
“Members of the public and police tried to remove the people and they commenced first aid and tried to get those people to safety from an airframe that was upside down,” Worrell said. “(People on) Jet Skis, family boaters, ordinary members of the public rushed to assist these people.”
Passengers in the other helicopter, which lost its windscreen in the crash, are also receiving medical assistance.
Footage of the crash showed a helicopter shortly after takeoff being clipped by another helicopter flying over the water.
Sea World Helicopters, a separate company from the theme park, expressed its condolences and said it was cooperating with the authorities handling the crash investigation.
“We and the entire flying community are devastated by what has happened and our sincere condolences go to all those involved and especially the loved ones and family of the deceased,” the statement said.
A witness named John told Melbourne radio station 3AW that patrons at Sea World heard the crash.
He said staff at the theme park moved swiftly to close off areas closest to the crash.
“There was a massive, massive bang,” he said. “It was just huge. I’m not sure if it was the propellers or whatever hitting against each other. But there was this poor lady and her son near the helipad in tears.”
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the accident was an “unthinkable tragedy.
“My deepest sympathies are with each of the families and everyone affected by this terrible accident,” she said. Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell told reporters on Tuesday one helicopter with seven people on board was taking off when its main rotors collided with a landing helicopter with six people on board, causing “considerable damage”.
Four passengers – including pilot Ash Jenkinson – were killed when the helicopter they were in crashed to the sandbank below.
Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, a newlywed British couple visiting a loved one on the Gold Coast were among those killed in the crash.
They had been married for little more than a year. Andy Taylor, a close friend of Mr Jenkinson, said he discovered the horrifying news on social media.
“I tried to ring Ash straight away,” he said.
“At first the phone was dead and then it went to the voicemail.” Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, boarded the flight with her 10-year-old son Nicholas.
She did not survive and her son remains in a critical condition at Gold Coast University hospital.
A 35-year-old mother and a nine-year-old boy travelling from Geelong West in Victoria remain in serious condition in hospital. He described Mr Jenkinson as “a big guy with a big heart,” who helped out during the height of the NSW Northern Rivers’ flood crisis last year.
“He did a lot of charity work, we did the floods down in Ballina and saved a lot of people,” Mr Taylor told Sunrise on Tuesday.
The pilot transported food, water and other essential items to flood survivors who were cut off from their community for days.
“He is the best of the best. I don’t know what else to say.” The regional duty officer said it was too early to say what caused the crash but one helicopter appeared to be taking off as the other was landing.
Footage of the incident recorded by a witness appeared to confirm that, while other footage showed wreckage strewn across a sand island close to the coast.
Worrell said the location made access difficult for emergency services.
Discover more from KossyDerrickent
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
