Australian boy wakes from coma after helicopter collision

SYDNEY (AP) — A 10-year-old Australian boy who was critically injured two weeks ago when two helicopters collided, killing four people, had woken from a coma in hospital and held his father’s hand, a family priest said.

Nicholas Tadros remained in the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane where medical staff described his condition on Monday as “critical but stable.”

His mother, Vanessa Tadros, 36, was killed when two Sea World theme park helicopters collided during joy flights on Jan. 2 at the tourist city of Gold Coast, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Brisbane.

She 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, posted on social media 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.

“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.

Along with Nicholas’s mother, British couple Ron and Diane Hughes and pilot Ashley Jenkinson were also killed in the collision that is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

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.

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