A week after narrowly surviving a horror helicopter crash on the Gold Coast, two New Zealand women are looking forward to continuing their recovery at home.
Elmarie Steenberg and Marle Swart suffered glass shrapnel injuries when the helicopter they were in collided with another chopper near Sea World on January 2.
Sydney woman Vanessa Tadros, 36, Britons Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and 40-year-old pilot Ashley Jenkinson died in the accident.
Ms Tadros' son Nicholas, 10, remains in a critical condition while Geelong woman Winnie De Silva, 33, and her son Leon, nine, are recovering in hospital.
In a statement on the weekend, the Steenberg and Swart families expressed their "deepest sympathies" and condolences to the other victims and their families, saying they continued to pray for Nicholas, Leon and Winnie.
They said the reality of the crash was sinking in but the support from strangers had touched them deeply.
"Elmarie and Marle have sustained significant injuries and, at present, are feeling the weight of the recovery journey ahead of them," the statement said.
"We are willing and able to continue to assist the ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) and Queensland police with their investigation as needed.
"As we return home to New Zealand, we feel eternally grateful to have been spared and thank God for every day we can spend with our loved ones."
The women, in their 40s, had been holidaying with husbands Riaan Steenberg and Edward Swart when the accident occurred.
The ATSB is probing the crash and expects to complete the investigation between July and September 2024.
Video footage from one of the choppers shows a passenger trying to warn pilot Michael James about the oncoming helicopter before the collision.
Friends and family of pilot Ashley Jenkinson are preparing to farewell him in a service on Friday in Southport.
© AAP 2023