Friends tried to rescue six trapped in sinking seaplane

THIS is the incredible moment a group of heroic fishermen tried to stop a seaplane sinking in Hawkesbury River with six people trapped inside. Specialist police divers will recover the wreckage tomorrow.

COURAGEOUS fishing mates who risked their lives in a frantic bid to save six ­people trapped in a sinking seaplane on New Year’s Eve have revealed the stricken aircraft slammed into the Hawkesbury River nose-first before flipping over on to its roof.

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Todd Sellars, 32, and his friends dived repeatedly into the waters of Jerusalem Bay to try to open the doors and release 58-year-old British millionaire Richard Cousins, his two sons, fiancee Emma Bowden, 48, her 11-year-old daughter Heather and pilot Gareth Morgan, 44.

The group of friends try to save the six people trapped in a sinking seaplane.

The men jumped in a tinnie and raced the wreckage. Picture: Kurt Bratby

They tied the plane’s tail to their dinghy in an unsuccessful attempt to pull the seaplane to shore. Picture: Kurt Bratby

But the plane took less than five minutes to sink and the men gave up only as the water became thick with aviation fuel and increasing the danger of an explosion.

“I couldn’t get the doors open because I kept running out of air,” father-of-three Mr Sellars said yesterday.

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He revealed that in those chilling final moments of the aircraft’s 13m descent to the riverbed, no one inside the cabin was knocking on the windows for help.

Todd Sellars and his friends tried to rescue the people on the seaplane. Picture: Troy Snook

“I’m not sure if I saw a lady or it was the lights playing tricks on me,” he said.

“It was awful because we knew people were in there and we couldn’t get them out.

“The police said we did all we could because they had probably suffered catastrophic injuries and been killed in the crash.”

Mr Sellars and his mates Lachlan Hewitt, Kurt Bratby and Will McGovern have already spoken to police about the tragic incident but are being reinterviewed as police and ATSB officers continue to gather data and accounts from confirmed witnesses in the ongoing investigation.

As the Sydney Seaplanes’ de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver took off from Cottage Point Inn at around 3.15pm on New Year’s Eve, Mr Sellars and Mr Hewitt, Mr Bratby and Mr McGovern were having beers on the houseboat they had hired with eight friends for four days.

On board the seven-seater plane, Mr Cousins, his sons William, 25, and Edward, 23, and his fiancee and her daughter were heading back to Rose Bay after lunch.

“We heard the plane, it was coming in low,” Mr Sellars said.

“As the plane fell out of the sky it made a huge noise, a boom.”

He said the engine had not cut out as the seaplane ploughed into the water and flipped over.

The four blokes were planning to go wakeboarding but after witnessing the crash, Mr Sellars said he ripped off his shirt and jumped into the tinnie with Mr Hewitt and Mr Bratby while Mr McGovern stayed at the controls of the houseboat.

“It took us less than 60 seconds to get there,” he said.

“The plane was upside down and the pontoons were filling with water.”

A nurse, Tash Sharwood, who was part of the houseboat group, joined the rescue mission on another tinnie in case the plane passengers needed first aid.

Tragically, it was too late.

Mr Sellars, an experienced spearfisherman, and his two mates dived in as another man from another nearby vessel swam over to help.

“The only way I could tell where I was going was to feel my way down the sides of the windows,” he said.

“It was pretty dark down there.”

An officer carries a piece of debris recovered from the seaplane. Picture: AAP

After four dives, he could hear Mr McGovern shouting a warning as the aviation fuel continued to leak around them and the fumes became stronger.

The group then lassoed a rope around the tail of the plane and made a last-ditch bid to haul the 1000kg aircraft to the shore.

“The plane was too strong, it was going to pull us down,” Mr Sellars said. “I ended up pulling the rest of the anchor rope out and I tied it to a buoy so the police would know where the plane had gone down.”

Mr Sellars said the group acted before they really thought about what they were doing.

Police are still trying to salvage the plane. Picture: Derek Ho

“We only did what anyone else would. It was pretty surreal,” he said.

“The others are all good guys, we are good mates.

“I don’t want to be classified as a hero or anything.

“If I was in that plane, I would hope someone would try to get me out.”

The body of a passenger is brought ashore along with debris of the wreck. Picture: AAP

He said the reality of the situation only hit them when they got back to the houseboat.

“I panicked when I got back because I couldn’t get in the place to help anyone,” he said. When police arrived about 15 minutes later, the plane had sunk in 13 metres of water.

Specialist police divers will recover the wreckage tomorrow from 6am.

Police said if they successfully retrieve the wreckage, it will be taken to Rowland Reserve, Pittwater Rd, Bayview, where there will be arrangements in place for viewing.

Police will work with Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators and prepare a report for the Coroner.