Newlyweds, Ron Hughes and Diane, among four killed when two helicopters crashed near Sea World
A newlywed couple were among the four people killed when two helicopters crashed in mid-air near Sea World on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Visitors at Sea World were having a good time when they heard “a massive, massive bang” and they realised two Sea World helicopters had crashed into each other.
Holiday visitors and people enjoying the water rushed to help the injured as debris covered an area that police said was difficult to access.
Ron Hughes, 65, and wife Diane, 57, from Merseyside in England, were in one of the helicopters and died in the crash. They only married in 2021.
Newlyweds among four killed when two helicopters crashed near Sea World
The 40-year-old pilot, Ash Jenkinson, who reportedly grew up in the West Midlands, was named as the third British victim. He had worked as a chief pilot at Sea World Helicopters since 2019.
Friends praised his mentorship and the assistance he provided during catastrophic floods in the New South Wales town of Ballina last year. The Gold Coast Bulletin reported he became a father in 2022.
The fourth person killed in the crash on Monday, Jan. 2, is Vanessa Tadros, 36, a mum from the Sydney suburb of Glenmore Park.
Three other passengers remain in hospital, including a 10-year-old boy, also from Glenmore Park, who is in a critical condition.