A helicopter carrying seven people has crashed on a New Zealand glacier, and authorities say they are still trying to reach the scene to assess whether there are deaths or injuries.
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The condition and nationalities of those on board are not yet known.
The chopper belonged to Alpine Adventures, one of many scenic flight companies that organize sight-seeing flights and helicopter rides around the Fox Glacier for tourists. Police said they are working with embassies to notify the next of kin but formal identification will take a few time.
Debris from the crash has been scattered hundreds of metres around the crash site.
Fox Glacier is 13 kilometres (eight miles) long and is listed as one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, attracting thousands of tourists each year.
A plane crash at Fox Glacier Airport in 2010 killed nine people.
Police said the crash site’s location meant rescuers had not been able to reach it.
An accident report found the 30-year-old badly converted crop sprayer was overloaded and none of the passengers were wearing a seat belt, which was allowed under New Zealand regulations.
The centre was alerted to the incident at 10.55am and four rescue helicopters were dispatched, one with a cliff rescue team on board.
The helicopter, owned by Alpine Adventures, went down at about 11 a.m. (5 p.m. EST Friday) on the glacier. Police said the recovery operation and investigation was likely to take days.
Franz Josef community development officer Helen Lash said the helicopter fraternity were “very very tight” between the two West Coast towns of Fox Glacier and Franz Josef.
An investigation into the helicopter crash is underway.
Cloud and rain in the area and bad weather conditions initially slowed the response.
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Images of the crash site show the helicopter buried between walls of ice in a deep crevasse a few 2,500 feet (762-metres) up the glacier.
