The British couple who died in a mid-air collision between two helicopters on Australia’s Gold Coast on Monday, January 2, 2023, have been named as Diane Hughes, aged 57, and her husband, Ron, aged 65.
The couple, who were from Merseyside, got married in August 2021 and had been on holiday in Australia visiting the husband’s daughter, Jane Manns, and his grandchildren.
Two others who died in the crash were the pilot, Ashley Jenkinson, and 36-year-old Vanessa Tadros.
Jenkinson, 40, who grew up in the West Midlands before moving Down Under and had recently become a father, was the third British victim.
Mrs Tadros was believed to be related to the couple and had been fatally injured when the aircraft plunged to the ground.
Also critically njured were three others, including Mrs Tadros’s 10-year-old son, Nicholas, and another child. They are currently in hospital.
The 10-year-old was pulled from the wreckage and rushed to hospital with serious injuries, where family members, including his father who saw the collision happen from the ground, has remained by his bedside.
It was learnt that the mid-air collision occurred when one helicopter was taking off from a sandbar and the other was landing.
The cause of the crash, which happened near the Sea World resort about 80km (50 miles) southeast of Brisbane, had yet to be known.
The two helicopters were operating tourist flights for the resort, and its owner, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, has offered condolences and said Sea World Helicopters was an independent operator.
Officials say it happened less than 20 seconds after one of the helicopters had taken off.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said that hose killed and critically injured were in the ascending helicopter, which crashed within seconds after its main rotor blade struck the cockpit of the other aircraft.
The second helicopter landed upright on the sandbank, with five of the six people on board suffering minor injuries.
The air safety commissioner, Angus Mitchell, said that the landing was a “remarkable achievement” as the helicopter got damaged where the pilot, Michael James, was sitting.
“We are very fortunate that we’re not standing here with far more deaths,” stated.
Mr Hughes’s daughter, Mrs Manns and her husband, Ben, said in a statement to 7News: ‘Our family is heartbroken and we are still trying to contact friends and family to let them know. Please respect our privacy at this devastating time.’
Queensland Police Commissioner, Katarina Carroll, hinted that criminal charges could be filed but it was “still early days” in the investigation.
