Deer-hunt helicopter crash claims two

By GREGG WYCHERLEY

Two men were killed while hunting deer yesterday when their helicopter crashed in rugged hill country in South Westland.

The men were pilot Barry Graham Guise, 33, of Lake Paringa, and shooter Geoffrey John Rodger, 36, of Jacksons Bay.

Police said the two took off from their base at Lake Paringa at dawn yesterday, and had arranged to meet ground crew about 10 am.

When there was still no sign of the helicopter around 11 am, the ground crew alerted emergency services.

About the same time, the helicopter's emergency locator beacon alert was picked up in Wellington at the National Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

A search was launched about 1.30 pm.

Local helicopters eventually found the downed Robinson 22 helicopter near the Cook River, Fox Glacier, in mountainous terrain at a height of about 1400m.

Lake Paringa resident Tony Condon said both men had young families and the deaths had shocked the small farming community.

Mr Guise owned the helicopter and had been using it for commercial game recovery for about the past four years.

Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Bill Sommer said finding the helicopter had been difficult because of the rugged terrain. Investigators will visit the scene today.