The anguish of losing loved ones was described tonight by family members of two of the New Zealanders killed in Friday's Air New Zealand Airbus A320 crash off the Mediterranean coast of France.
Air New Zealand pilot Captain Brian Horrell, 52, and engineers Murray White, 37, Michael Gyles, 49, and Noel Marsh, 35, as well as Civil Aviation Authority official Jeremy Cook, 58, were killed in the crash, along with two German pilots.
Emma Gould, partner of Murray White, said she was "gutted" by his death, 3 News reported.
"I've lost my soulmate," she told media in the French town of Perpignan where Air New Zealand has set up a base while the search and investigation into the crash continues.
"I didn't expect to be on my own like this, so I'm thinking I've got a long, lonely road ahead," Ms Gould said.
Bill Marsh, father of Noel Marsh, said losing a son was "actually something different again".
"You never expect to bury your own children and that's going to be probably the hardest thing we've ever had to do in our lives," he said.
Ms Gould said Mr White had had their personal laptop with him on the aircraft and so she had lost many many photos of their family life together.
By tomorrow more than 20 family and friends of the five New Zealanders killed in the Air New Zealand A320 crash will be in Perpignan.
They will all be staying at the same hotel where Air New Zealand chief executive officer Rob Fyfe has been personally meeting them.
Mr Fyfe said tonight the families were "amazing, very inspiring people dealing with the situation here".
"I don't think I could do half as well as they have done, the courage they have ... you just can't help but want to give them everything you can."
Mr Fyfe said the airline hoped it was doing everything it could ... "whatever it takes, that's what we're trying to do".
Today at 2pm local time (2am NZ time) the airline held a service on the beach and at the crash site.
On the beach Mr Fyfe spoke about the great work the men who died had done and flight service managers and cabin crew performed a karakia as a "personal gesture to the New Zealand families".
The family were then taken in two boats on a 20-minute journey to the crash site, where flowers and wreaths were placed and scattered.
