Police say they do not believe three climbers missing on Aoraki Mt Cook have survived a fall.
The search for the missing men reconvened on Friday morning after bad weather prevented any efforts in recent days.
"We do not believe the men have survived," Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said in a statement this afternoon.
Insp Walker said that police believe the men took a fall while climbing around the mountain.
"This is certainly not the news we wanted to share today," she said.
"First and foremost, we're thinking of the men's families in the United States and Canada. We have spoken to them today and, as you'd expect, it's not the phone call they wanted to receive.
"I'm devastated for them - the entire search team wanted a positive result."
It was earlier reported there were grave concerns for the three men - two Americans, Kurt Blair and Carlos Romero, and a third unnamed Canadian man.
Police had used a helicopter and drones to search the area where other items were found on Monday, and had found footprints, and recovered other climbing-related items and energy gels they believed belonged to the men.
"Based on the footage from the drone, we can see evidence of where the climbers had begun to traverse the slopes beneath Zurbriggen Ridge," Insp Walker said.
The trio flew into Plateau Hut at 3.30pm on Saturday last week, planning to summit the mountain but failed to meet their flight out.
The search has been suspended but Insp Walker said, "we remain poised to reactivate our search if we receive fresh information or credible reports of sightings - especially from the climbing community".
She said that any recovery operation will be evaluated to determine its feasibility.
"I know that finding the men will be what the family wants and deserves."
Aoraki Mt Cook is the highest peak in New Zealand, at 3724 metres, and is a challenging, technical climb with countless crevasses and hazards.
