Four New Zealanders are among the survivors of a mid-air helicopter crash which killed four people on the Gold Coast yesterday.
The Sea World helicopters were carrying out tourist flights several hundred metres from the landing pad near the theme park when they collided around 200 to 300 metres in the air.
One helicopter was landing and another was taking off near Sea World Drive, in Main Beach, when the incident happened around 2pm.
"One helicopter that was taking off appears, its main rotors have collided with the landing helicopter, caused considerable damage to the front section to that helicopter," Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell told reporters today.
"In the process of that collision, the main rotor blades and gear box of the helicopter taking off have separated from the aircraft, causing it to, tragically, crash down to a sandbar."
Queensland Police said one of the helicopters involved "managed to successfully land on a sandbank".
The aircraft which crashed had seven passengers, including the pilot.
The pilot, identified as 40-year-old Ashley Jenkinson, and three passengers - a 57-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man from the UK, and a 36-year-old woman from Glenmore Park, New South Wales - died at the scene.
A 10-year-old boy from Glenmore Park was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
Two others – a 33-year-old woman and a 9-year-old boy travelling from Geelong West, in Victoria – were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
She remains in a critical but stable condition, while the boy’s condition remains stable.
The aircraft which landed on the Broadwater sandbank had six occupants, including the pilot.
The passengers included a 27-year-old Western Australia woman and two families from New Zealand who were travelling together, a 44-year-old man and 43-year-old woman from one family, and a 48-year-old man and 45-year-old woman from the other.
One occupant from the aircraft was uninjured, while five others sustained minor injuries. They were transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell called it a "very tragic start to the new year".
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told 1News they "are aware of reports New Zealanders were involved in the tragic helicopter crash in Australia".
"However, we have not received any requests for consular assistance."
In a statement, Sea World Helicopters, a separate company to the theme park, said it is "cooperating with all the authorities including the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the Queensland Police".
"As it is now a police investigation we cannot provide any further information at this stage."
Operation Victor Sandlewood, made up of Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch Detectives and the Forensic Crash Unit, is now assisting the ATSB with investigations.
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