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MELBOURNE, Jan. 3 (AP) — A pilot, two British tourists and a Sydney woman have been identified as four people killed when two helicopters collided off the coast of Australia’s tourist hotspot.
Fortunately, the death toll from the crash of the two planes operated by SeaWorld Helicopters was not high, authorities said.
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Although the plane was damaged in the collision near the main beach on Australia’s Gold Coast on Monday afternoon, the pilot of the second helicopter managed to land safely on the sandy outcrop.
“Given the damage to the left front of the helicopter, where the pilot was, this is a remarkable achievement,” said Angus Mitchell, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, whose office is working on Investigate the crash.
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“So while it is very tragic that four people lost their lives this morning and many people are mourning, we could have had a lot worse here and the fact that a helicopter managed to land is remarkable.”
Dead pilot Ashley Jenkinson, who had been chief pilot with SeaWorld Helicopters since 2019, was praised by friends for his mentorship and for his devastating flooding in the NSW town of Ballina last year help provided.
The Gold Coast Gazette reports he is 40 and became a father in September.
His helicopter was in the air for less than 20 seconds before it collided with a second SeaWorld helicopter that was trying to land.
The plane’s main rotor blades made contact with the forward cockpit of the descending helicopter, Mitchell said.
“That in itself caused the main rotor and gearbox to separate from that helicopter, which unfortunately meant that it then had no lift and fell hard to the ground,” he said.
Investigators are still at the crash site, but rising tides are making it harder to gather evidence from the scene.
Investigators want to determine what happened “in the cockpit” when the collision occurred, Mitchell said.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was supporting the families of the deceased 57-year-old woman and 65-year-old British man who were holidaying in Queensland, Australia.
The other passenger who died was a 36-year-old woman from the Sydney suburb of Glenmore Park.
Three people on board the plane are still being treated in hospital: a 10-year-old boy, also from Glenmore Park, in a critical condition, a 33-year-old woman from Geelong, and a 9-year-old boy from Victoria who is in critical condition. The critical condition is stable.
Passengers on board the helicopter that 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 in hospital after showering with glass.
Holidaymakers and people enjoying water sports rushed to assist emergency services when the crash occurred near SeaWorld’s marine park during Australia’s peak summer holiday season.
Authorities praised members of the public who rushed to the helicopter rescuers.
“We do think of all those affected here, not only those who were in the helicopter and their extended families, but also those who were out in the open ocean yesterday and witnessed the helicopter go down, especially those who were the first responders ,” Mitchell said.
Village Roadshow Theme Parks, which owns Sea World Helicopters, said in a statement that it was cooperating with authorities while “sending our deepest condolences to those affected by the tragedy”.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also expressed his “deepest sympathies to those who are grieving”.
“Australia is appalled by the news of the horrific and tragic helicopter accident on the Gold Coast,” he wrote on social media. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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