Australia: Four die, three critical as 2 helicopters collide mid-air

Sydney (Australia), January 2: Four people were killed and three were critically injured in a mid-air collision between two helicopters in Australia, authorities said on Monday, according to CNN.

"The collision happened at around 2 pm local time near the popular tourist strip of Main Beach on the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane," CNN reported.

"Those two aircraft, when collided, crash-landed on the sandbank just out from Sea World Resort," Queensland Police Inspector Gary Worrell, a regional duty officer for the southeastern region, said, adding that emergency services found it difficult to access the sand bank.

According to Jayney Shearman of the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), the two helicopters carried a total of thirteen people. Four of the 13 were killed, and three were critically injured. Six passengers suffered minor injuries from shattered glass.

She stated that all of the injured had been taken to the hospital.

Photos of the accident site show debris scattered across a strip of sand. Many personnel are gathered on land, and numerous vessels can be seen in the surrounding waters.

"Worrell said that though it's too early to determine the exact cause of the accident, initial inquiries suggest one helicopter had been taking off and the other landing when they collided," CNN reported.

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