An Australian man who miraculously survived a horrific helicopter crash has told how he helped pull other survivors from the wreckage.
Chris Marrot-Castellat, 49, from Perth, had been on an afternoon sightseeing flight with three other passengers and the pilot to Bali on Friday to help celebrate his friend Russell Harris’s 46th birthday.
But the helicopter ran into problems shortly after takeoff.
Mr Marrot-Castellat recalled hearing “cracking, banging and popping” noises as the helicopter began to descend.
The helicopter crashed into cliffs near Suluban Beach, west of South Kuta, after a kite string became entangled in the plane’s rotor blades.
“I think we were traveling for about three minutes and I felt the helicopter drop about 20 or 30 meters,” Marrot-Castellat said. 9 News.
‘Basically, we had a kind of roller coaster ride and that’s when I realized, ‘Wow, this is real.”
An Army veteran with helicopter experience, he knew what to do once the helicopter touched the ground.
Chris Marrot-Castellat, 49, from Perth, (pictured) was in the helicopter in Bali on Friday to help celebrate his friend’s birthday, when it crashed.
The 49-year-old turned off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt, along with Harris’ partner, Kayla, and the photographer.
“I thought maybe he was dead because there was no response from him. I heard Kayla screaming that she couldn’t breathe,” she said.
Perth’s father said the outcome could have been very different and the group made “the best of the worst situation”.
Mr Harris, also from Perth, previously told Nine News the helicopter pilot did not see the kite in time, before the helicopter crashed into trees, a cliff and then flipped over.
Although Mr Marrot-Castellat was rushed to hospital, he emerged walking away with some bumps and bruises.
Perth’s father (pictured below right with his friend Russell Harris) managed to escape the crash without major injuries.
The helicopter crashed between two cliffs after a kite got caught in its blades (pictured is the scene of the accident)
Once on the phone with his family in Perth, his son Jacob said he was imagining the worst possible scenario.
“I know he can talk, but I’m not sure how serious his injuries are,” Jacob told Nine News.
‘I think there was something guiding that, because what are the possibilities?
‘I asked Dad, “Was it like Black Hawk Down? Was it like that movie?” and he said, “Yeah, basically.”
“I think there was something guiding that.”
Mr. Marrot-Castellat, Mr. Harris and Kayla have since been discharged from the hospital.
