Newlyweds injured in helicopter crash had delayed wedding after terror attack and Covid
Sunday, 13 June 2021
A bride and groom seriously injured in a helicopter crash at their wedding had postponed their nuptials after Christchurch's deadly mosque attacks.
Then the couple had to delay again because of Covid-19 – and worked seven days a week to save for it.
Newly married Mahdi Zougub and Fay El Hanafy were heading off to get photos taken when the chopper they were in crashed down on one of the fairways at the Terrace Downs Golf Resort in rural Canterbury at 3.05pm on Saturday.
Three people, including the photographer Rachel Jordan, were taken to Christchurch Hospital by helicopter. The fourth person suffered moderate injuries and was taken by ambulance.
The bride and groom are Muslims. Their weddings guests included a number of people who were caught up in the March 15 terror attack.
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Wasseim Alsati, who was shot outside An-Nur Masjid on Deans Ave, told Stuff that Zougub was his best friend.
Zougub had originally postponed the wedding after March 15, then it was delayed by Covid-19. Zougub had been working seven days a week to save for it, he said.
Some guests saw the helicopter crash, Alsati said, while others heard it. Immediately after the crash members of the groom’s family rushed to the scene.
“The rest they couldn’t go … they were just in shock. Didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what to say,” Alsati said.
Many of the guests went to Christchurch Hospital later that evening to check on them, he said.
Zougub suffered a broken back, while El Hanafy also had a broken back, foot, and legs.
She had surgery on Sunday and the groom was expected to have surgery on Monday, Alsati said.
Alsati said being at the hospital and seeing other members of the Muslim community there brought back memories of March 15.
“Most of the families are still grieving, and they’re invited to this wedding to actually chill out a little bit … and this happened all of a sudden.”
Both Zougub and El Hanafy were directly affected by the terror attack.
El Hanafy told Australian media outlet SBS she was called to identify bodies of loved ones at Christchurch Hospital.
“I was seeing people covered in blood, bullets all over their bodies,” she said.
Zougub lost at least one friend.
Alsati said friends and family had banded together to support the bride and groom.
“We have made a promise that once they recover we will do a very big wedding for them.”
A Givealittle page has been created for the couple to help organise another wedding for them.
“We would like to raise money to the young couple that had, what was meant to be the best day of their lives, flipped upside down into the most horrific day,” the page says.
Ronnie Ronalde, group operations manager for CPG Hotel Group, which runs the property for the owner said there had been no discussions yet about whether they would be hosting a wedding for the couple free of charge.
“It’s way too soon to be broaching that conversation. However, we will work with the family and provide an exceptional experience, should they choose to hold the reception with us in the future.”
Photographer Rachel Jordan has spinal fractures, five fractured ribs, lung laceration, fractured sternum, a broken arm and fractured feet.
Her husband, Eric Jordan, received a phone call from a man at the scene of the crash moments after it happened.
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“My wife has a fear of flying – when I heard the tone of [his] voice I knew something was terribly wrong, and I instantly knew that she was likely very scared about what was happening,” he said.
Jordan has spoken to her twice via video stream since the crash.
“She just said that the helicopter lost power and that it’s possible the rotor caught a tree, something along those lines. She wasn’t fully sure,” he said.
“She’s in a lot of pain and is on a lot of painkillers, so she wasn’t able to communicate very well. But, she’s alive and that’s all I can ask for at this moment.”
The couple moved to New Zealand in about 2015 from the United States and have a 10-year-old son, Evan.
The couple set up a wedding photography business not long after arriving in New Zealand, with Rachel Jordan flying all over the country to photograph weddings.
Eric Jordan said she did not let her fear of flying stop her from getting in helicopters.
“She does it for the love of what she does and to capture the best memories for her bride and groom. She lives for it.”
He was thankful for the first responders at the scene as well as all the support the family had received from friends and those in the wedding industry.
Jordan has won several New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography Iris Awards for her work.
In a media statement to the New Zealand Herald, the company that owns the helicopter, Wyndon Aviation, said they were “unaware of any causal factors in respect of this accident”.
“We have, however, undertaken to work closely with the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and authorities who are investigating the circumstances behind yesterday's accident.'
CAA investigators were back at the scene on Sunday examining the wreckage, a spokesman said.
The crash was witnessed by golfers on the course, according to Ronnie Ronalde, group operations manager for CPG Hotel Group, which runs the property for the owner.
It is understood there were eight golfers near the helicopter when it crashed. A surgeon, who was in the clubhouse at the time of the crash, arrived at the scene shortly after.
“They were there straight away, and they called the clubhouse, and we went straight up and tried to help them until the ambulance and police arrived,” Ronalde said.