A young boy from Sydney remains in a coma following the Gold Coast helicopter crash that killed four people earlier this week.

Nicholas Tadros, aged 10, was in a helicopter taking off near Sea World when it collided with another chopper and plunged onto a sandbar after its rotor blades sheared off.

His mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, Britons Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and 40-year-old pilot Ashley Jenkinson died at the scene on Monday.

A Queensland Health spokesperson confirmed on Thursday evening that Nicholas was still in a 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.

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Second child critically injured wakes up

Nine-year-old Leon de Silva, from Geelong, suffered brain trauma but woke up in Brisbane Children’s Hospital on Thursday morning.

His mother Winnie, 33, was also awake and in a stable condition with two broken legs, a damaged left knee, broken right shoulder and broken collarbone.

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A Queensland Health spokesperson said three people from the other helicopter had all been discharged from hospital on Thursday.

Four of the helicopter’s five passengers and the pilot, 52-year-old Michael James, suffered shrapnel wounds when the cockpit’s windshield was struck by the other aircraft’s main rotor.

Sea World loses ‘first-class pilot’

Sea World Helicopters owner and director John Orr-Campbell paid tribute to the victims in a statement on Thursday afternoon..

“The tragic helicopter accident on the Southport Broadwater on 2 January 2023 has impacted many people, and we pay tribute to those that lost their lives,” he said.

“We also acknowledge the suffering of those that were injured.

“We have and continue to reach out directly to offer our deepest condolences, support and counselling to the families and passengers of both aircraft.”

Mr Orr-Campbell said the company was mourning the death of its chief pilot Mr Jenkinson, an English father-of-one who lived on the Gold Coast.

“I knew Ash personally for nine years. He was a fine man and a standout pilot with 6,210 hours of flying to his name,” the statement said.

“To lose a man and a pilot of Ash’s calibre is shocking in every sense of the word. I, along with all the staff at Sea World Helicopters, are gutted to the core.

“My heart aches as I think of Ash’s fiancee Kosha and his one-year-old son Kayden.”

Mr Jenkinson performed his first flight in May 2007 and obtained his commercial pilot’s licence in June 2008.

In December 2011, he became a Grade 1 Instructor and trained hundreds of commercial helicopter pilots before becoming Sea World Helicopters’ chief pilot.

“We have lost a first-class pilot, a first-class man and a wonderful father, partner and friend.”

Mr Orr-Campbell also acknowledged second pilot Michael James who was able to land his chopper safely after the incident, sparing the lives of all on board.

“I would also like to commend the other pilot, Michael James, who heroically got the second aircraft to the ground safely. We wish him well in his recovery.”

The statement comes after a video shot by one of the passengers in the second chopper involved in the collision was published online.

The footage, shot from inside the cockpit, appears to show a passenger trying to warn pilot Mr James about the other helicopter by tapping him on the shoulder.

The passenger then squeezes the edge of the pilot’s seat to brace as the cockpit is sprayed with broken glass after the other helicopter’s main rotor strikes the windshield.

Mr de Silva said his wife Winnie wanted to send her personal condolences to the families of other victims in the crash.

“We’re going through hell and can’t imagine what they’re going through, so she wanted to let them know that she’s thinking and praying for them,” he said.