A 26-year old Irish man has died tragically in a plane crash in New Zealand which occurred on Friday afternoon.
The Department of Foreign Affairs are providing consular assistance to the family of Patrick Byrne, from Gorey, co. Wexford, who was on a working holiday visa in the country.
Byrne was one of nine people who perished in the disaster in at an airport near the Fox Glacier tourist attraction (above) on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
The fixed-wing plane crashed at about 1.30pm in the afternoon local time.
Those who died also included the pilot, four local men and tourists from Australia, England and Germany.
“All nine people on board were killed,†a police spokesman told AFP news agency.
Initial reports regarding the incident are sketchy, but it is thought that the plane burst into flames shortly after takeoff, according to a police spokesman and a report on the incident on Television New Zealand.
Westland District mayor Maureen Pugh told the television channel the tourists were going up with instructors to do a tandem skydive in perfect weather conditions.
“It’s a well-established company down here and has a huge reputation,†she said.
“Nobody is even trying to guess what went wrong but it had tragic consequences. We’re just so devastated.â€
It is understood that the Irish Embassy in Australia are liaising with the Irish Consulate in New Zealand to organise the repatriation of Mr. Byrne’s body.
Mr. Byrne is survived by his mother and father, brothers, Mark and David and sister Laura.
