7 people dead after helicopter crash in New Zealand

Four tourists who perished in the 2010 crash near Fox Glacier’s parents afterwards wrote to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to encourage him to improve security measures in the sector.

A HELICOPTER with seven people on board has crashed at the popular New Zealand tourist destination Fox Glacier.

EARLIER: RECOVERY teams are on standby at Fox Glacier this morning awaiting an opportunity to get to the site of yesterday’s helicopter crash.

The accident is not the first in New Zealand’s ice fields, an area of natural beauty that attracts many tourists and where dozens of local guides and tour operators work.

Police have postponed the recovery of the bodies for the remaining four victims.

They have yet to be formally identified.

Five years ago, nine people died when a plane full of skydivers crashed not long after take-off at Fox Glacier. They said that the pilot and six passengers are believed dead.

Four rescue helicopters were sent to the scene. Very sad day. For we have lost a good man and friend.

The helicopter went down around 10 a.m. NZDT Saturday (4 p.m. EST Friday) on Fox Glacier on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

Alpine Adventures’ website says it has been in business for around 30 years and runs “an impressive fleet of modern turbine helicopters”.

The aircraft came down and landed in a crevasse on the Fox Glacier, on the country’s South Island, on Saturday morning at about 11:00 local time.

Grey District Council mayor Tony Kokshoorn told NZ Newswire it was windy on the West Coast on Sunday and it rained overnight.

A spokesman for Alpine Adventures, which operated the single-engine Squirrel helicopter, confirmed it was on a scenic flight with six passengers.

Police, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) will be investigating the crash.

Both countries’ embassies have been notified to help locate next of kin.

He said numerous pilots knew each other and it was a hard time for them.

There was a degree of risk in all helicopter flights and there would be a thorough investigation, including the role weather played, he said.