1672668332 Australian helicopter collision leaves four dead several seriously injured The

Australian helicopter collision leaves four dead, several seriously injured The

The collision between two helicopters on the Gold Coast, south-east of Australia's Queensland region on Monday January 2nd.  Four people died in this accident. Twitter screenshot The collision between two helicopters on the Gold Coast, southeast Australia’s Queensland region, on Monday 2nd January. Four people died in this accident.

Twitter screenshot

The collision between two helicopters on the Gold Coast, south-east of Australia’s Queensland region on Monday January 2nd. Four people died in this accident.

AUSTRALIA – Dramatic scene just a stone’s throw from Sea World Park in Australia. Two helicopters collided in mid-air Monday, January 2, killing four and seriously injuring three, authorities said in their latest official report.

Images broadcast by Australian television showed the rotors of a rig lying on a sandbank in south-east Australia’s Queensland region, currently in the high tourist season. Nearby, one of the two helicopters was overturned on the sand, according to public broadcaster ABC. The other plane appeared largely intact at the scene near Sea World marine theme park.

The two helicopters “collisioned,” one crashing and the other “landing on the sandbar just next to Sea World Park,” Queensland Police Inspector Gary Worrell said. The exact causes of the collision are not known, but it appears one helicopter took off when the other landed, he said.

“Four people lost their lives today” and “three others – a woman and two boys – are in critical condition in hospital,” he added during a news conference.

Accident at start?

After the accident, a bright yellow rescue helicopter landed on the sand because of the particularly difficult access for the emergency services on site. But it was noted that passers-by had rushed to get passengers from the plane, whose cabin had overturned.

“Members of the public and police tried to pull people out and began administering first aid to get them to safety,” added Gary Worrell, before thanking “everyone who helped and allowed these people to get into the bring to emergency room.

The Australian Transport Safety Board immediately announced it would launch an investigation into the accident, which was presented as a “mid-air collision”. Investigators were expected at the scene to examine the wreck, map the site and recover investigative materials, the office said in a statement.

Images released by Channel 9 show the moments before the collision. However, the moment of the precise impact between the two machines was cut during editing.

The BBC also reports Gary Worrell’s statement that the “four fatalities and three serious injuries all occurred on the same plane”. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has also called in witnesses who saw the helicopters in flight or have images to best determine the conditions of this tragedy.

See also on The HuffPost:

You cannot view this content for the following reasons:

  • You have rejected cookies related to third-party content by logging in. You can therefore not play our videos, which require third-party cookies to work.
  • You are using an ad blocker. We advise you to disable it to be able to access our videos.

If neither of these two cases applies to you, contact us at [email protected].