Seven Dead In New Zealand Helicopter Crash

“Honestly I don’t say this lightly, he’s one of the best people I have ever met. He was the sort of guy that would just pick you up off the side of the street and would always have time for everyone”.

Four British and two Australian tourists, as well as their New Zealand pilot, died when the helicopter plunged into the heavily-crevassed glacier during bad weather on Saturday.

The 28-year-old pilot, Mitchell Gameren, was from Queenstown – while the two remaining passengers, Leang Sovannmony and Josephine Gibson, were from South Australia.

All companies involved in glacier flights assess the weather and if one firm grounds their flights, they all do.

“We don’t know why [the helicopter crashed], we don’t know how”.

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn said the weather conditions on New Zealand’s South Island were “terrible”.

‘The pilot was a very valued member of our team.

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

A drone is being positioned to survey the crash site.

Four rescue helicopters were dispatched to Fox Glacier.

Photographer Mr Virco, who was due to turn 50 yesterday, and his radiologist partner Miss Walker, had tried to take the same 30-minute tour the previous day.

The accident investigation team planned to send a commercial drone up as soon as the weather cleared.

Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) investigator Peter Northcote said they could not rule out any potential cause.

She said the terrain is also complicating the plan of attack.

New Zealand relies on tourism as a major source of revenue, but has been criticised by a few people as having safety standards that are too lax.

“Most people are aware there is a degree of risk when you get in a helicopter”.

Andrew Virco and Katharine Walker, from Cambridge, were also killed.

Police said the crash site’s location meant rescuers had initially not been able to reach it. It is understood a paramedic was later winched down but found no survivors. It’s had a variety of uses – agricultural, tourist, and even private use.

Bray said his step-son, who had been back on the West Coast for only about a month, was very safety-conscious. According to a Telegraph report, all seven occupants – pilot and passengers – aboard a copter that went down in New Zealand have been identified.

“Today we lost a champion”.

In 2008, three people survived a plane crash at Fox Glacier.

“Obviously the focus is on body recovery so they’re working to do that first”.

“[We] don’t know exactly what we’re facing yet”. They loved singing and they loved travel.