Floral tributes are rising on the website of the lethal Gold Coast chopper crash that killed 4, because the lengthy investigation into what triggered the catastrophe begins.
Police divers left the scene shortly earlier than 6pm yesterday (7pm AEDT) after spending the afternoon combing by and eradicating the ultimate items of the wreckage.
Another three individuals are combating for his or her lives, as extra particulars come to gentle concerning the horrific incident.
Floral tributes are starting to develop on the website of the vacationer hotspot.
Hundreds of witnesses who watched the occasions unfold yesterday are actually offering statements to police, describing how onlookers rushed to the sandbank to assist.
The wreckage and digital monitoring gear are being analysed to find how the 2 plane collided on a crystal clear day.
The second issues went horribly incorrect came about as one helicopter was coming in to land whereas the opposite was taking off.
The second chopper spent lower than 20 seconds within the air earlier than the crash.
Investigators imagine the ascending helicopter took off from the pad into the trail of the descending chopper, its rotor-blades smashing into the left aspect of the opposite plane, sheering off its windscreen, earlier than coming aside, leaving the fuselage to fall to the sandbar.
Despite the collision, an injured pilot managed to convey one helicopter to land on the sandbar, albeit with out a windscreen.
The different plane crashed.
Queensland Police described it as “a very very confronting scene”.
“My heart goes out to those people who came here to have a beautiful time on the gold coast and have tragically passed away here,” Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll mentioned.
The six within the second helicopter are alive, a few of them struggling shrapnel accidents.
“Whilst it has been very tragic that four people have lost their lives and many families are mourning this morning, we could have had a far worse situation here,” Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell mentioned.
“And the fact that that one helicopter managed to land has been quite remarkable.”
The firm behind the incident, Sea World Helicopters, say their employees are devastated however will not be making any additional feedback at this level.
The preliminary investigation by the Transport Safety Bureau will take weeks if not months, with the primary query round protocols of plane coming and going from the busy theme park.
