The bodies of the three Canadian men believed killed in a
plane crash in Antarctica will not be recovered until at
least October, Antarctica New Zealand says.
A rescue mission was launched by New Zealand's Rescue
Coordination Centre (RCC), with the help of United States and
Canadian officials for the Twin Otter plane and its three
crew after the flight from the South Pole failed to arrive at
Terra Nova Bay on Wednesday.
On Saturday the wreckage was located on a very steep slope
near the top of Mt Elizabeth, halfway between the South Pole
and McMurdo Station.
The plane had suffered a major impact and "the front of the
aircraft is firmly imbedded in snow and ice" Antarctica New
Zealand spokesman Graeme Ayres told Radio New Zealand.
It had been too dangerous to attempt to recover the bodies,
and Mr Ayres said the recovery of the bodies had now been
deferred until the next Antarctic science season which begins
in October this year.
The site of the crash, which is at a height of 3900 metres,
was remote and difficult to access.
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