“I thought she had died, I thought everyone on the helicopter would die”: Neil watched in horror as the chopper containing his wife Winnie, 33, and stepson Leon, 9, crashed in Queensland on Monday.
A Geelong West woman and her nine-year-old son were on a holiday in Queensland earlier this week when they were injured in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of four people.
“Thankfully, they are both alive but have a lot of surgery ahead of them, which means the family will need to stay here on the Gold Coast and I won’t be able to return to work,” husband Neil de Silva“I’m hoping you can help us out with a small donation to keep us on our feet while Winnie and Leon recover. Any help would be greatly appreciated.”
Because the family was on a “strict budget”, de Silva remained behind while his wife and stepson boarded the joy flight. He watched with confusion and then horror as the helicopter ascended, wondering if the other chopper had enough clearance.“I’m thinking unless my eyes are deceiving me, these helicopters are going to crash – and then about two-thirds of the tail of Winnie’s helicopter just got smashed off,” he said.
Tributes have been pouring in for the four people who died in the crash. Sea World chief helicopter pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40, has been described as a “legend” and a “true gentleman”.
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