Tourist who died on glacier was off to see the world

John Parisis. Photo / Supplied

Australian John Parisis had just been made redundant and was ready to travel the world - starting with a month-long trip around New Zealand.

But the 38-year-old from New South Wales died three weeks into his trip while on a guided walk on Franz Josef Glacier on Saturday.

Three separate investigations are under way, one by the police and the others by tour operator Franz Josef Glacier Guides and the Department of Labour.

Mr Parisis's parents were contacted yesterday by Interpol at their home in Greece and are working with the Australian High Commission in Wellington to have his body returned.

A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out at Christchurch Hospital today.

Constable Paul Gurney of the Franz Josef police said Mr Parisis was part of a group of 12 on a day hike led by a guide on the glacier, on the West Coast.

The group, in single file, were negotiating a path along the bottom of a crevasse when Mr Parisis fell over and stopped breathing about 1.30pm.

A nurse flown from Franz Josef by helicopter administered CPR but he did not regain consciousness.

He was flown back to the town's landing pad, where he was pronounced dead. His body was flown to Greymouth Hospital and later on to Christchurch.

Mr Gurney said Mr Parisis, who was single, had been staying at the Rainforest backpackers in Franz Josef as part of a bus tour group.

A cousin in Australia told TV3: "He just got [made] redundant from work and was ready to explore the world. He loved his photography. He was a happy person."

John Thorburn, chief executive of Ngai Tahu Tourism, which owns the glacier guide company, said an internal investigation had been launched and guides and other hikers in the party were being spoken to.

"We conduct an extensive investigation when any incident happens on the ice, so we will be working through that over the next few days to really establish what exactly happened because it is quite unclear."

Tours, suspended yesterday, are expected to resume today.

"Clearly everybody on the ground was quite shocked and upset by this," Mr Thorburn said.

The Department of Conservation, which issues concessions allowing guided tours on the glacier, said it was closely following the police investigation.

Mr Parisis was the third Australian tourist to die on a South Island glacier in 18 months.

In January 2009, two Melbourne brothers were killed after ignoring warning signs on Fox Glacier in order to take photos.

Ashish and Akshay Miranda were crushed by an icefall after crossing a safety rope to reach the glacier terminal.