Australian boy, 10, wakes from coma after Gold Coast helicopter collision

A 10-year-old boy who was left critically injured after a helicopter crash near a theme park in Australia has woken from a coma in hospital, a family priest said.

Nicholas Tadros’s mother Vanessa was one of four people who died when two Sea World choppers collided in mid-air on January 2 in Queensland. The other victims were newlywed Britons, Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and pilot, Ash Jenkinson, 40.

Nicholas has been fighting for his life at a hospital in Queensland and has had six hours of surgery for broken bones in his legs and left hand.

His mother was buried on Monday after a funeral near the family home in western Sydney.

One of the priests who conducted the funeral, Father Suresh Kumar, said on Monday that the son has “been off life support now for a few days and his body has responded very well.”

“They have lowered his sedation medicine at times to see if he is responsive and he has woken up and (been) able to respond to some questions with a nod or a shake of the head,” Kumar posted on social media.

“He is also able to hold his Dad’s hand,” Kumar added, referring to Nicholas’s father, Simon Tadros, who is credited as the source of the information in the statement.

Nicholas remained on a ventilator to support his breathing and was scheduled for more surgeries, the priest said.

The other victims who remain in hospital are a 33-year-old mother and her 9-year-old son. The conditions of both are listed as stable.