One of New Zealand's most influential aid workers has been killed on an assignment in rural China.
Christchurch's Major Carolyne Frazer, a senior officer in the Salvation Army, died when the minibus she was travelling in failed to take a corner, plummeted 70m down a cliff, andcame to rest in a river in the Anhui Province.
Her husband of 33 years, Major Ian Frazer, said it was Saturday night when he found out she was dead, although she had died more than 30 hours earlier, about 9.45am local time (1.45pm NZT) on Friday. The news was delayed due to China's poor communication system.
The couple's adult sons Andrew, 30, of Wellington, and Darren, 29, of Winton, travelled to Christchurch on Sunday.
"It's devastating," Maj Frazer said. "It's all so remote, you've got no body to look at. You are sort of hoping it's not true, but you know it is."
Four people, including the driver, were killed in the crash, and another is in a serious condition in Liuan People's Hospital.
Maj Carolyne Frazer and her husband devoted much of the past 20 years to the development of Third World communities.
They had served as ministers for three years in Fiji and six years in Tonga, and this year alone Carolyne Frazer had travelled to Tanzania, Tonga, The Philippines and China.
She was due to deliver a paper at a development conference in London tomorrow on her specialist topic of empowering women.
In recent years she had done pioneering work for the Salvation Army, liaising with governments and key agencies and planning future aid programmes.
She was the army's overseas development officer and was in China monitoring an aid project aimed at rebuilding a devastated rural community.
Salvation Army national leader Commissioner Shaw Clifton paid tribute to her.
"Carolyne was so dedicated to her work. She represented God's love to thousands in practical ways."
Her body will be returned to New Zealand. A memorial service will be held in Christchurch on Wednesday.
