Monday, 23 November 2015 - 10:00am |
Tasman

Weather hampers recovery

1 min read

Recovery teams are currently unable to get on to Fox Glacier to continue work at the site of Saturday’s helicopter crash.

Seven people died in the crash and on Saturday and four bodies were recovered from the site on Sunday.

When the weather clears a staging area will be stablished on the glacier to provide a safe staging site for the rescue operation.

Alpine Cliff Rescue team leader Marius Bron described working on the fragile ice on the glacier as like working on popcorn. He said rescuers would work with ropes and winches.

West Coast Area Commander Inspector John Canning said the safety of the rescue teams was the paramount concern and that would not be compromised,

“We are waiting for a substantial break in the weather to get back on the glacier and systematically work through what is a highly technical recovery operation,” he said.

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