Three other people are seriously injured (Photo: EPA)

Two Britons are among four dead after two helicopters collided at an Australian tourist hotspot.

Three other people have been seriously injured following the tragedy near Sea World theme park near Main Beach on the Gold Coast.

It is believed that one helicopter had taken off and the other was landing when they collided.

A spokesman for the FCDO told Metro.co.uk tonight: “We are supporting the families of two British nationals who died in Australia and are in contact with local authorities.”

Their identities are not yet known.

However, tribute was paid to Sea World Helicopters 40-year-old Chief Pilot Ash Jenkinson who was killed along with three passengers.

He will be remembered as the “legend” responsible for the flooding in northern New South Wales last year.

The dead and three seriously injured are all occupants of the crashing helicopter. The other landed safely on a sandbank.

epa10386029 Two helicopters are seen after colliding near Seaworld on the Gold Coast, Australia, January 2, 2023. Four people were killed and another 13 injured after two helicopters collided before one crashed into the Broadwater on the Gold Coast . EPA/DAVE YACHT FROM AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

One helicopter landed safely while the other crashed (Image: EPA)

This image from a video shows a sand island with a crashed helicopter, casualties and rescue crews in Australia's Gold Coast, Monday, January 2, 2023. Two helicopters collided in Australia's tourist hotspot on Monday afternoon. (CH9 via AP)

One helicopter is said to have taken off and the other landed (Image: AP)

A witness named John described hearing “a huge, huge bang”.

“It was just huge,” he told Melbourne radio station 3AW. “I’m not sure if it was the propellers or whatever that collided. But there was a poor woman and her son in tears on the helipad.”

Witnesses desperately tried to help the injured when debris covered an area police said was difficult to access.

“The public and the police were trying to remove people and they started doing first aid and trying to get these people to safety from an upside down plane,” said Gary Worrell, acting Superintendent of Queensland State Police.

“(People on) jet skis, family boaters, ordinary citizens rushed to help these people.”

Sea World Helicopters, a separate company from the theme park, has expressed its condolences to the families of the lost.

The company would cooperate with the authorities conducting the accident investigation.

The company has not confirmed whether it used one or both of the helicopters involved in the crash.

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