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The boy continues to fight for life in a coma after the horrific Sea World helicopter crash, which claimed the life of his mother.
- Nicholas Tadros, 10, remains in coma after helicopter crash on Gold Coast
- He was in a helicopter taking off near Sea World when it collided with another helicopter.
- Nicholas’s mother, Vanessa, and three other people were killed when a helicopter crashed.
- Authorities confirmed Thursday night that Nicholas was in critical condition.
A Sydney boy remains in a coma following the Gold Coast helicopter crash that killed four people earlier this week.
Nicholas Tadros, 10, was in a helicopter taking off near Sea World when it collided with another helicopter and fell onto a sandbar after the rotor blades broke.
Vanessa Tadros and her son Nicholas, 10, before boarding the helicopter. News Nine Credit: NCA NewsWire
The helicopter crash killed four people, including pilot Ash Jenkinson. NCA Newswire/Scott Powick Credit: NCA NewsWire
His mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, Britons Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40, died at the scene on Monday.
A Queensland Health spokesperson confirmed on Thursday night that Nicholas was still in critical condition.
There have been no further official updates, but a cousin of Vanessa Tadros told News Corp that Nicholas’s latest surgery to stop internal bleeding had been successful.
Nine-year-old Leon de Silva, from Geelong, suffered brain trauma but woke up at Brisbane Children’s Hospital on Thursday morning.
Investigations are underway to determine what caused the fatal accident. Credit: News Corp Australia/NewsWire/David Clark
Authorities have said they want to know what happened inside the booths. Credit: News Corp Australia/NewsWire/David Clark
His 33-year-old mother Winnie was also awake and in stable condition with two broken legs, a damaged left knee, a broken right shoulder and a broken clavicle.
A Queensland Health spokesman said three people from the other helicopter had been released from hospital on Thursday.
Four of the helicopter’s five passengers and the pilot, Michael James, 52, suffered shrapnel injuries when the main rotor of the other plane struck the cockpit windshield.
A step-by-step walkthrough of how the crash that killed four is believed to have unfolded
John Orr-Campbell, director of Sea World Helicopters, which operated both planes, paid tribute to Jenkinson, saying the company had “lost a first-class pilot, a first-class man and a wonderful father, partner and friend.”
“We are also saddened by the loss of (Mr Jenkinson’s) passengers and cannot imagine the terrible sadness their families and loved ones must feel,” said Mr Orr-Campbell.
Mr Orr-Campbell said he wanted to congratulate the other pilot, Mr James, “who heroically brought the second plane to the ground safely.”
Video shot by one of the passengers on that plane appears to show another passenger trying to warn the pilot 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 hold him down as the cockpit is sprayed with broken glass after one of the other helicopter’s rotor blades hits the windshield.
One of the passengers can be seen trying to alert the pilot. 7 News Credit: Channel 7
They appear to be targeting the other helicopter. 7 News Credit: Channel 7