13 Apr 2014

Men who died in chopper crash named

4:05 pm on 13 April 2014

The two men who died in a helicopter crash on the West Coast have been named.

They were Neale Gray, 54, and Daryl Condon, 51, both of Westland.

Mr Gray is thought to have been the pilot.

The wreckage of the helicopter was found submerged in a river near Haast Pass on Saturday.

The helicopter, which was flying from Wanaka to the West Coast, was reported overdue at 9.15pm on Friday.

The Rescue Coordination Centre sent two helicopters to search, but they had to stop just after midnight due to bad weather.

The search began again on Saturday morning and the wreckage was located about 8.30am in the Fish River near Haast.

The deaths have been referred to the Coroner and the Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the crash.