Sea World helicopter crash: Mother who survived describes the panic on board

A mother aboard one of the SeaWorld helicopters that crashed in a horrific tragedy that killed four people revealed the chaos on board when the helicopter crashed.

Winnie de Silva, 33, has spoken for the first time about the tragedy at the Gold Coast theme park that has left her nine-year-old son Leon fighting for his life in a coma.

Originally from Kenya and now living in Geelong, the community support worker had dreamed of taking her young son on a helicopter joyride.

But just 20 seconds after takeoff, he heard a “loud bang” and felt “shuddering” as the main rotor blades passed through the second helicopter’s cabin.

“I could see the pilot pressing all these buttons, stressed, he didn’t know what to do. I don’t remember much (after that), but everyone was shaking and worried,” Ms de Silva told the herald sun.

Ms. de Silva has two broken legs, a broken right shoulder, a broken clavicle and a damaged left knee after the Sea World helicopter crash.

The two Sea World helicopters collided in front of hundreds of tourists on the Gold Coast.

Winnie de Silva, 33, moved to Australia from Kenya and her 9-year-old son Leon (pictured together) joined her just over a year ago.

Terrified as the Eurocopter EC130 began to plummet towards the ground, she squeezed her son’s hand as hard as she could.

‘All I could see was death in my eyes. I didn’t want to see death in my eyes, so I closed them and held my son’s hand by my side,” he said.

Just seconds later, the helicopter burst into flames as it crashed into a sandbar, claiming the lives of pilot Ash Jenkinson, 40, Sydney’s mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, and British couple Ron, 65. , and Dianne Hughes, 57.

The other helicopter flown by Michael James, 52, miraculously landed safely with no fatalities.

She remembers opening her eyes while trapped in the crumpled wreckage.

‘My feet and my right arm were stuck. I remember screaming and screaming for help… I couldn’t get out,” said Ms. de Silva.

Shortly after, a police officer came to her aid and asked her name and date of birth, but she could not remember.

His son Leon has a fractured skull and is fighting for his life in the hospital

Four people died in a terror helicopter crash on Monday after two Sea World planes collided on the Gold Coast (pictured, wreckage)

He suffered two broken legs, severe damage to his left knee, a badly broken right shoulder, and a shattered clavicle in the impact.

Doctors expect him to remain at Gold Coast University Hospital for several weeks and he now faces months of surgeries, rehabilitation and recovery.

But his horrific injuries pale in comparison to Leon, who moved to Australia just a year ago to be with his mother.

He suffered a fractured skull, head trauma, and facial injuries in the accident.

He is being treated at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane and is now in an induced coma.

How the crash unfolded: A step-by-step walkthrough of how the crash that killed four is believed to have occurred

Mrs de Silva’s husband, Neil, had taken the Geelong family on a quick holiday to the Gold Coast and decided to yell at the couple for a 10 minute flight so they could have the experience despite being on a “cheap holiday”. to save money”.

“The hospital called me early this morning to tell me that the left side was not responding the way they wanted,” De Silva told the Herald Sun on Tuesday.

“They asked my permission to drill a hole in the right side of his skull to connect a device to monitor his brain pressure.”

Mrs de Silva’s husband, Neil, had taken the family on a quick holiday to the Gold Coast and decided to yell at the couple for a 10 minute flight so they could have the experience despite being on a “cheap holiday for save money”.

After seeing the couple off, Mr de Silva watched in “numb” disbelief as they ascended into the flight path of the other helicopter, collided in an explosion of glass and crashed to the ground.

De Silva added that despite their significant injuries, he felt lucky that they both survived. he has started a GoFundMe to help with hospital bills.

Investigations into the causes of the accident continue.