Four tourists from Britain and two from Australia were among seven people killed when a helicopter crashed on a picturesque New Zealand glacier, police said.
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In a statement on Saturday night, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said she had spoken to the families of the two Australians believed to be on board.
Fox Glacier located on the country’s west coast of South Island is a popular tourist destination.
Searchers are contending with hard conditions on the glacier, and police said Sunday afternoon that the recovery efforts had been halted because of deteriorating weather.
The remains had been taken to a nearby temporary mortuary facility for formal identification, which may take several days.
It is believed Nigel and Cynthia Charlton, both from Hampshire, were on board the aircraft when it went down at Fox Glacier off the South Island.
Reports in New Zealand said Mr Gameren was an experienced flyer.
New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission said it would investigate the cause of the crash and had sent four investigators to Fox Glacier.
He said there was low cloud in the area, but otherwise the rescuers had not reported being hampered by the weather. “It looks like inclement weather for a further two or three days unfortunately”, he told the New Zealand Herald.
Investigators plan to interview Fox Glacier Heliservices, the operator, to examine details of their training and the experience of the pilot and crew.
“My department will remain in close contact with the New Zealand authorities as they respond to the crash and we will provide support to any affected families”.
“My sympathies are with the families of the crash victims at this very distressing time”, she said.
Rescue teams in helicopters found no sign of survivors when they reached the crash site, rescue co-ordinators said.
Four Britons along with an Australian man and a woman as well as Pilot Mitch Gameren, 28, have been killed in the fatal accident that occurred on Saturday.
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.
“The visible wreckage is lying in heavily crevassed steep terrain about the size of a rugby field, and alpine cliff rescue staff assistance will be required for any on-scene work”, Mr Northcote said. “It was not ideal for helicopter flying”, he said. Outside the local tourism centre, a group of pilots sat around a wooden picnic table, reflecting on the loss of their friend and remembering a colleague who had been taken too soon.
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Nine people died in 2010 when a skydiving plane crashed near the same glacier.
