‘Numerous’ surgeries for brave chopper crash survivor, but condition still critical
A Sydney boy is still in a critical condition in hospital seven days after a helicopter crash on the Gold Coast killed his mother and three other people, and injured another seven.
Critically-injured 10 year-old Nicholas Tadras and his mother Vanessa, who died in the crash. Vanessa's funeral will take place today.
Nicholas Tadros, aged 10, is being treated at the Queensland Children’s Hospital for injuries he suffered when the helicopter he was in collided with another chopper and plunged onto a sandbar near Sea World on January 2.
He has undergone a number of operations in Gold Coast University Hospital and was transferred to Brisbane over the weekend.
“Nicholas Tadros is in a critical condition at the Queensland Children’s Hospital,” a Queensland Health spokesperson told AAP on Monday.
His mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, Britons Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and 40-year-old pilot Ashley Jenkinson died in the accident.
West Geelong woman Winnie De Silva, 33, and her son Leon, nine, who were also in that helicopter, are stable and recovering in hospital.
The pilot of the second chopper, Michael James, managed to land his aircraft safely but he and four passengers were injured by flying glass when its windshield shattered.
Two of the injured were New Zealand women Elmarie Steenberg and Marle Swart who had been on a holiday with their husbands Riaan Steenberg and Edward Swart.
The four, all aged in their 40s, on Sunday released a joint statement and photographs from the scene of the crash to multiple media outlets.
“The level of support and care we have received from strangers has, however, touched us deeply,” the statement said.
“Elmarie and Marle have sustained significant injuries and, at present, are feeling the weight of the recovery journey ahead of them.”
The couples expressed condolences to the families of those who died and thanked their pilot Mr James, people who came to their aid, emergency service personnel, doctors and nurses at the hospital and staff at their Surfers Paradise hotel.
“There are no words to describe our gratitude,” the Steenbergs and Swarts said.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is probing the crash and expects to complete the investigation between July and September 2024.
Video shot by one of the passengers in the second helicopter appears to show another passenger trying to warn Mr James that the other helicopter was fast approaching by tapping him on the shoulder.
The passenger then squeezes the edge of the pilot’s seat to brace as the cockpit is sprayed with broken glass after one of the other helicopter’s rotor blades strikes the windshield.
The Steenbergs and Swarts denied providing the footage to the media, saying they had only shared it with the ATSB.
“This was intentionally kept out of the public domain out of respect for all the individuals affected by this tragic accident and it is extremely traumatising,” they said.
