Two British couples – Andrew Virco, 50, and Katharine Walker, 51, from Cambridge, and Nigel Charlton, 66, and Cynthia Charlton, 70, from Hampshire – were on the sightseeing helicopter when it crashed into a crevasse on the Fox Glacier on Saturday morning. Four rescue helicopters were sent to the scene at Fox glacier on South Island. “Formal identification of those people will take a few time”, a statement said.
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UPDATE 3: The rescue team is now in contact with the British and Australian embassies reaching out to help find the kin of the deceased to inform and update them of the situation.
Police say the bodies were recovered before weather conditions deteriorated and the recovery operation was halted for the day.
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.
Mitch Gameren and six tourists died when his helicopter slammed into Fox Glacier.
Peter Northcote, a spokesman for the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, said the helicopter was ferrying tourists at the time of the crash.
View of Fox Glacier at 10:52am yesterday, showing the weather conditions around the time of the crash.
Local media said the helicopter was operated by Alpine Adventures, which provides scenic flights and landings on the glacier.
Fox Glacier is one of New Zealand’s most popular tourist attractions and attracts thousands of tourists every year.
A rescue team confirmed there were no survivors and it may take several days to recover the bodies, according to the Mail Online.
Prime Minister John Key said he had expressed his condolences to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the deaths of two Australians in the crash. All seven people, one pilot and six tourists, aboard the helicopter are believed to have been killed, police said.
Low clouds and rain showers were in the area, Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn told The Associated Press.
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A drone is scheduled to fly above Fox Glacier to gather information on the wreckage and it is expected that a helicopter will be used to haul the wrecked machine out of the crevasse where it is wedged and lift it off the glacier.
