British husband and wife among four dead in Australia helicopter crash

The crash occurred off the Gold Coast close to the Sea World resort

(DAVE HUNT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

A British husband and wife on holiday were among those killed in a mid-air helicopter crash in Australia, authorities have confirmed.

Queensland Police say that the fatal accident took place as one helicopter was taking off while the other was landing near Gold Coast’s Sea World.

The four people who died in the crash were travelling in the same helicopter, including the 40-year-old pilot, a 57-year-old woman and 65-year-old man from the United Kingdom, and a 36-year-old woman from New South Wales.

Three other people onboard the helicopter, aged 9, 10 and a 33-year-old mother, were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The pilot, Sea World Helicopters chief pilot Ashley Jenkinson, has been named locally as one of the victims.

While the second aircraft landed safely, five of the six people on board suffered glass shrapnel wounds from a shattered windscreen.

The UK’s Foreign Office earlier confirmed to reporters that two British nationals were killed in the crash, but they have not yet been publicly identified.

The wreckage of both helicopters is on a sand bank on the Gold Coast, making recovery efforts difficult (( Image: Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock))

A spokesperson from the Queensland Police Service told reporters: “It’s a difficult scene, Due to the area it’s located, on the sand bank, it was difficult to gain access, to get our emergency services to the scene to manage it appropriately.”

First reported at 2pm local time, debris from the crash has been scattered across the beach with the wreckage lying upside down, bearing the logo of the nearby Sea World resort.

Four people have died following a crash involving two helicopters on the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon, Monday January 2. https://t.co/onqzZ1nkc0 pic.twitter.com/atK6nog0ox

— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) January 2, 2023

Sea World Helicopters, an independent company from the Sea World resort, expressed its condolences and said it was cooperating with the local authorities handling the investigation.

The crash has occurred at the height of tourism season for the local area. Roads around the site have been closed and motorists and pedestrians advised to avoid the area while recovery and investigation efforts continue.

A UK government spokesperson issued a statement following the incident saying “We are supporting the family of two British nationals who died in Australia and are in contact with the local authorities.”