'Calling out for her mum' — Helicopter crash witness details heartbreaking scenes north of Kaikōura

December 15, 2020

Coastal Lodge owner Ian Mhertens said three children were aboard the helicopter as it crashed near Kaikōura.

Warning some people may find the details below distressing.  

A person who witnessed a fatal helicopter crash north of Kaikōura this afternoon says three children were on board.

Ian Mehrtens from the Coastal Lodge detailed the terrifying scenes as locals rushed in to pull people from the wreckage.

"I saw a helicopter coming in to land and saw it about 30 or 40 metres off the ground, then all of a sudden it went into a spin, round and round then it dived," he told 1 NEWS.

Helicopter crash north of Kaikōura.

"I didn’t see it hit the ground but I went over to see if I could help and it was a bit of a mess — bits and pieces everywhere and people screaming inside the helicopter."

Mehrtens say he and a few other locals helped pulled them out.

"One wee girl was crying and calling out for her mum and the others weren’t too healthy at all."

He says there were three children in the helicopter and at least one man that was dragged out was deceased.

Locals raced to pull people from the wreckage after the aircraft went down on a beach about 60km north of Kaikōura

Around five or six locals and tourists were the first on the scene before emergency services arrived.

A Transport Accident Investigation Commission spokesperson says the three injured survivors were children and they have all been airlifted to hospital, where one of them is in ICU.

The TAIC says the Airbus Helicopter EC120 was travelling from Christchurch with five persons on board when it lost control, descended and impacted shallow water close to the beach.

The two people who lost their lives were both adults.

Investigators from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission are flying down to the scene tonight.

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