A young boy critically injured in a helicopter crash that killed four people on the Gold Coast has given a thumbs up and spoken his first words since the accident, his mother says.
Winnie De Silva, 33, from Geelong, and her son Leon, nine, were rushed to hospital on Monday after their sightseeing chopper collided with another machine near Sea World and plunged onto a sandbar.
Four people died in the first machine and another young boy was critically injured, while four passengers and the pilot of the second helicopter were injured by flying glass shrapnel when its windshield shattered.
A Queensland Health spokesperson said Nicholas Tadros, aged 10, from Sydney was in an "unchanged" condition from Thursday when he was listed as being in a critical condition and in an induced coma.
His mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, Britons Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and 40-year-old pilot Ashley Jenkinson died at the scene on Monday.
Ms De Silva, who is in a stable condition at Gold Coast University Hospital, released a statement on Friday about Leon's recovery at the Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane where he is in a stable condition.
"I want to thank people for their kind thoughts and healing prayers for Leon and me. They are helping me stay positive that Leon and I will get through this," she said.
"Yesterday, I had a video call with Leon, and he gave me a 'thumbs up' and one of his big, beautiful smiles. Today he spoke two words, "my leg" which gives me hope that he is getting stronger each day.
"With more surgery scheduled for me next week, my complete focus is on getting better so that within the next couple of weeks I can be with Leon and support his recovery. I can't wait to hug my beautiful, brave boy."
An online fundraiser for the De Silva family, set up by Winnie's husband Neil, has brought in almost $60,000 as of Friday.
"We are so grateful for the generous contributions to the Go Fund Me page. The generosity of people has been amazing, and I can't thank you enough," Ms De Silva said.
"More importantly, I continue to pray for the recovery of young Nicholas, who was seated near me in the helicopter, and offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the other passengers. It is an unthinkable and difficult time for us all."
Three people from the second helicopter were discharged from hospital on Thursday.
John Orr-Campbell, the director of Sea World Helicopters, which operated both aircraft, paid tribute to Mr Jenkinson, saying the company had "lost a first-class pilot, a first-class man and a wonderful father, partner and friend".
"We also mourn the loss of (Mr Jenkinson's) passengers and cannot imagine the terrible sadness their families and loved ones must be feeling," Mr Orr-Campbell said.
He said he wanted to commend the other pilot, 52-year-old Michael James, "who heroically got the second aircraft to the ground safely".
Video shot by one of the passengers in that aircraft appears to show another passenger trying to warn the pilot that the other helicopter was fast approaching by tapping him on the shoulder.
The passenger then squeezes the edge of the pilot's seat to brace as the cockpit is sprayed with broken glass after one of the other helicopter's rotor blades strikes the windshield.
