BRISBANE, Australia:
Four people were Dead and three others were injured in a collision between two helicopters in Brisbane, Australia. The condition of the injured is serious. CNN gave this information on Monday. Officials said that the incident took place on the beach located in the southern part of Brisbane.
According to Queensland Police Inspector Gary Worrell, the two helicopters collided while they were flying over the Main beach on the Gold Coast.
“The two helicopters collided and crashed on a sandy beach at the Sea World resort,” Worrell told reporters. He said it was difficult for emergency services to reach the sandbank, which is located too far from the coast. According to Jenny Shearman of the Queensland Ambulance Service, there were 13 people on board both helicopters.
Four of them died, three suffered serious injuries and six suffered minor injuries. Ms Shearman said all the injured had been hospitalised. The video of this incident is also going viral. Pictures from the site showed the wreckage lying on a strip of sand, with workers on the ground and several ships in the surrounding water.
Police Inspector Worrell said although it was too early to determine the exact cause of the crash, initial inquiries suggest that one helicopter was taking off and the other was landing when they collided. He said that after the accident, the police and people in the vicinity helped in evacuating the people inside the helicopter and giving first aid.
Angus Mitchell, the chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said in a statement that an investigation into the collision had been launched. Mitchell said investigators from ATSB offices in Brisbane and Canberra would be gathering evidence, examining the wreckage and marking the site, as well as hearing from witnesses.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Queensland Prime Minister Anastasia Palaszczuk expressed her deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and all those affected.” She said the incident on the Gold Coast today is a tragedy beyond imagination.
