The bodies of three men, including a New Zealand pilot, have been found after a helicopter crash in Papua New Guinea.
New Zealander Antony Annan, 49, and Australians Russell Aitken, 42, and licensed aircraft maintenance engineer Emmett Fynn, 36, were on board a Bell 206 chopper that went missing near Mt Hagen in the PNG highlands on Thursday last week.
A statement from the company they worked for, Hevilift, said the bodies were found about 1pm local time (3pm NZT) by searchers.
Debris from the helicopter was found by villagers on Thursday and wreckage was spotted from the air on Friday morning.
Hevilift said the wreckage indicated the helicopter had crash-landed.
"Unfortunately our worst fears were realised this morning.
"We are devastated that this has happened. Every one of us had hoped to find them alive and now we have to deal with the reality," said Hevilift's group managing director Paul Booij.
He said it was a harrowing time for the company's staff and their families, and those involved in the search.
It is a time for grieving for our colleagues and their families and for us to look after all our other staff and their families.
A thorough investigation would be carried out, Mr Booij said, and the company would co-operate with authorities. But it was not going to speculate on what caused the crash.
"We can assure everyone that no one wants to know what happened more than we do.
"We take the safety of our staff very seriously, it is our highest priority," he said.
The company, he said, had rigorous maintenance schedules in place for all its aircraft as well as strict operational flight safety programmes and protocols.
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