Tourist's death in tandem hang-glider stuns firm

Staff of a hang-gliding business were in shock yesterday after a 23-year-old Greek tourist fell to her death from a hang-glider near Frankton in Queenstown.

Eleni Zeri, a civil engineering graduate, fell during a tandem flight which launched from The Remarkables just before noon on Saturday.

The pilot of the hang-glider landed safely.

How far Ms Zeri fell was not known but police said she had "absolutely no chance of survival".

At least six other clients of SkyTrek Hang Gliding saw the accident. They had all since left the resort town to continue their holiday.

While police and Civil Aviation Authority investigations continued, SkyTrek director Keith Woodham described the accident as "a tragedy for all concerned".

Company spokeswoman Fiona Woodham said the pilot who had been flying with Ms Zeri was devastated.

"He's been flying tandem hang-gliders commercially for seven or eight years and has a lot of flying time under his belt."

SkyTrek had operated since 1992 and flown 27,000 people without a single serious incident, Mrs Woodham said.

Police have taken the hang-glider and other equipment for examination. The New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association had sent its top, Nelson-based, hang-gliding officer to investigate

- NZPA