British pair among dead in mid-air helicopter collision
SYDNEY: Two travellers from the United Kingdom were among four people killed in a mid-air helicopter collision near an Australian theme park that authorities say could have been much worse.
Queensland state police say two helicopters collided about 300 metres in the air on Monday afternoon as one was landing and another taking off near Sea World on Australia’s Gold Coast.
The helicopter that was taking off crashed, killing four of the seven aboard, including 40-year-old pilot Ashley Jenkinson and two visitors from the United Kingdom. A second helicopter carrying six people landed on a nearby sandbank, with five people suffering minor injuries.
Australian Transport Bureau (ATB) chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the safe landing prevented an even worse catastrophe. “So whilst it has been very tragic that four people have lost their lives and many families are mourning this morning, we could have had a far worse situation here and the fact that one helicopter has managed to land has been quite remarkable,” Mr Mitchell said.
Authorities are yet to name the others who died: a 57-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man from the United Kingdom, who were a married couple, and a 36-year-old woman from the Australian state of New South Wales.
The three survivors from the crashed helicopter, including two boys ages 9 and 10, and a 33-year-old woman, were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The 10-year-old is in critical condition. A 33-year-old and 9-year-old were seriously hurt, authorities say.
Sea World Helicopters, which operated the aircraft involved in the crash, is independent of Sea World owner Village Roadshow Theme Parks and is closed until further notice. Sea World was open yesterday.
A joint ATB and police preliminary report on the crash is expected within eight weeks.