Baby Ayla in 'worrying' state

The 4-month-old daughter of Jerry Collins remains in a 'worrying' condition. Photo / Zebulon Noguera

Baby Alya, the three-month-old daughter of former All Black Jerry Collins, remains "worrying" condition, French officials have said.

Yvon Clavet, the French prosecutor leading the investigation into the cause of the accident that killed Collins and his partner Alana Madill and left their daughter fighting for her life, said: "The state of the health of Alya still remains worrying."

Clavet added that further analysis and investigations are being carried out, most notably on the car in which the couple and their baby daughter were travelling.

"In order to pinpoint the exact circumstances...an expert examination of the vehicles has been ordered," he said.

The grandparents of Ayla are at her bedside as tributes, donations and even artistic offerings pour in for the family.

Collins and Madi;; were killed when their car and a bus collided on a motorway near Beziers in southern France on Friday.

Ms Madill's parents have travelled from Canada to the hospital to be with their granddaughter.

Friends and family of the couple, including Ms Madill's sister, are already by the baby's side, French newspaper L'Independent said.

The tragedy has sparked an outpouring of support in New Zealand and abroad, with some taking a unique approach to fundraising.

Havelock North artist Aaron Jenkins picked up a pencil and started sketching when he heard about the deaths.

It took 14 hours of steady work to create an image of Collins using graphite, carbon and tinted charcoal on paper.

He posted the work on Trade Me, with proceeds donated to an account set up in Ayla's name.

"When I heard about the baby it really pulled on my heart strings - I have got two girls of my own," Mr Jenkins said. "I got 150 new likes on my Facebook. It's been pretty quiet lately. I never expected this attention - it's not why I did this."

The listing went live at 10pm on Sunday and had received more than 38,000 views and a $2530 top bid last night.

The account for baby Ayla on fundraising site Givealittle has now exceeded its target of $25,000.

Last night, more than 530 people had donated and $28,399 had been pledged.

A close friend of Ms Madill has paid tribute to a woman she says was an "exceptionally vibrant person". Canadian Jessica Hartwell said Ms Madill was "so, so, so loved".

"I know that a lot of people might say that about people that have passed, but she really was. She made friends wherever she went, she lit up a room.

"She had a big personality and a big energy and she was really giving and really generous and would really go out of her way for people, even if she didn't know them."

Ms Hartwell said she had not spoken to Ms Madill's family since the tragic accident but she understood her friend's body would be returned to Canada.

A New Zealand representative at the embassy in Paris has arrived in Montpellier to speed up the repatriation of Collins' body, which was being held up by paperwork.

His relatives said details of the rugby great's final farewell would be known within the next few days, as members of the former All Black's extended family began to arrive in Wellington from Samoa.

A funeral is expected to be held in Porirua.

Aunt Julia Collins told the Samoa Observer she learnt of her nephew's tragic death through a news bulletin on television.

She said Collins had been due to return to Samoa later this month.

• Read Keith Quinn's column on Jerry Collins: tinyurl.com/quinnjerry.