SYDNEY — Two helicopters collided in mid-air, killing four people Monday at Australia's Gold Coast tourism hotspot, officials said, with images showing one of the aircraft's rotors lying on a sandbar.
One helicopter had flipped over on the exposed sandbank a few feet from the shore, images on public broadcaster ABC showed.The other helicopter appeared to be largely intact at the accident scene, which is near the Gold Coast's popular Sea World marine theme park. Several small police and rescue boats were moored on the exposed sandbank, which was strewn with bits of the destroyed helicopter.
"As a result of that, four people have lost their lives today," he said. "Three others are critical in hospital."The helicopters crashed on a sandbank near the Sea World marine park in Australia's Gold Coast. Reuters videoOne of the helicopters appeared to have been taking off as the other was landing, Worrell said, adding that the facts were yet to be determined by air accident investigators.