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At least four people have died and three others were injured Monday after two helicopters collided mid-air on the east coast of Australia.
The collision occurred at around 2 p.m. local time near Seaworld, a popular tourist spot in Gold Coast, located in the state of Queensland and situated approximately 40 miles south of the state capital Brisbane, CNN reported.
A total of thirteen persons were onboard the two aircraft when they collided, paramedics arrived to provide emergency services on the spot, Queensland’s ambulance service told the BBC.
According to the outlet, three of the injured—a woman, and two young boys were taken to the hospital in critical condition following the mishap. The remaining six people reportedly suffered cuts from the shattered glasses.
Queensland Police Inspector Gary Worrell told the local media that the helicopters crash-landed after the head-on-collision.
“Those two aircraft, when collided, have crash landed on the sand bank just out from Sea World Resort,” regional duty officer with the Queensland Police, Gary Worrell, told reporters at the site, as quoted by CNN.
The wreckage was found on a strip of sand not far from the coast. Several emergency personnel scrambled to the site, and numerous rescue vessels were also seen lined up in the nearby waters to help with the rescue efforts.
Initial reports suggest one plane was taking off and the other landing when they collided, Worrell said, adding that the exact cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained.
One helicopter “has its windscreen removed, and it’s landed safely on the island. The other (helicopter) has crashed, and it was upside down,” the official said, according to CNN.
The police and the members of the public who witnessed the incident rushed to the crash site to eject and offer first-aid to the persons involved in the fatal crash.
Queensland Police said in a statement that the tourist strip has been closed off due to the incident and urged motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area.
Worrel told BBC that the rescue efforts were delayed as authorities faced difficulties in accessing the sand banks. “It’s a difficult scene,” he said. “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.”
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