Two elderly US tourists were killed in a helicopter crash at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, despite onlookers’ desperate attempts to revive the pair, police said yesterday.
The 79-year-old man and 65-year-old woman on Wednesday died when the aircraft went down near a pontoon on the reef off popular tourist hotspot Airlie Beach. Two other passengers, also from the US, and the pilot survived with minor injuries.
INVESTIGATION
“As a result of that crash, emergency services have attended and an independent, transparent and robust investigation is currently underway,” local police inspector Ian Haughton said.
There was no indication of what caused the crash, but Haughton said that the probe would look at the mechanical servicing of the helicopter, what happened at the scene that could have been a contributing factor and any possibility of error.
REMOTE AREA
Witnesses on a nearby dive platform helped drag the passengers from the water, performing resuscitation under telephone instruction from emergency services, which were an hour removed from the remote site in Queensland State’s Whitsunday region, the Brisbane Courier Mail reported.
However, the two Americans could not be saved.
SOMBER DAY
“It’s just gut-wrenching. It’s not good. My deepest sympathies goes out to those who lost their lives and those that were injured,” Whitsunday Mayor Andrew Willcox told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“I know most of the tourism operators in the Whitsundays personally, and I know they all hold their passenger experience and safety as their No. 1 priority, so it will be a somber day for us in the Whitsundays,” he said.
The company that operated the helicopter, reportedly Whitsunday Air Services, has suspended operations.
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