Queensland Police have confirmed two New Zealand families were involved in the helicopter collision on Australia's Gold Coast near Sea World on Monday.
On Monday, emergency services were called after two helicopters collided just after 2:00pm (local time). Four people died and three others were injured in the crash.
One of the helicopters involved in the crash managed to successfully land on a sandbank. Passengers on this helicopter included two New Zealand families - a 44-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman from one family and a 48-year-old man and 45-year-old woman from the other, Queensland Police said in a statement.
A 27-year-old woman from Western Australia was also in this helicopter.
Five out of the six people on board received minor physical injuries and were transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital.
According to 7NEWS the other helicopter involved in the collision ended up upside down in the water. This one had seven people on it. The pilot and three passengers died at the scene.
The passengers who died were a 57-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man from the UK travelling together and a 36-year-old woman from New South Wales, Queensland Police said in a statement.
A 10-year-old from Australia is in a critical condition and was transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital. A 33-year-old woman and a nine-year-old boy from Victoria, Australia were also transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
On Monday, The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said an investigation was underway.
"Transport safety investigators with experience in helicopter operations, maintenance and survivability engineering are deploying from the ATSB's Brisbane and Canberra offices and are expected to begin arriving at the accident site from Monday afternoon," a statement read.
"During the evidence-gathering phase of the investigation, ATSB investigators will examine the wreckage and map the accident site. Investigators will also recover any relevant components for further examination at the ATSB's technical facilities in Canberra, gather any available recorded data for analysis, and interview witnesses and other involved parties," it said.
"The ATSB asks anyone who may have seen the collision, or who witnessed the helicopters in any phase of their flights, or who may have footage of any kind, to make contact via witness@atsb.gov.au at their earliest opportunity."
Queensland Police said the Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch Detectives and the Forensic Crash Unit are assisting the Australian Transport Safety Bureau with the investigations.
They have asked those who witnessed the crash to come forward and speak to police if they have not done so already.
