Their parents watched helplessly as Mangalore-born engineer Ashish (24) and his 22-year- old brother Akshay Miranda, a student in Melbourne, were crushed by falling ice in New Zealand's Fox Glacier yesterday.
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Indian brothers killed by falling ice in NZ
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tragic: Family and rescue workers visit the site at Fox Glazier where the brothers were crushed to death. pic/ap |
On holiday in Zealand with their parents Ronnie and Winnie Miranda (who had migrated to Melbourne from Mumbai), and other family members, the brothers, their parents' only children, had crossed safety barriers at the glacier's terminal face yesterday afternoon to take pictures.
They were buried by approximately 100 tonnes of ice that covered an area of about 10 by 30 metres and was up to five metres thick.
The body of Ashish, an aerospace engineer at Boeing, was recovered last night while that of his younger brother, an engineering student at Monash University due to finish his studies this year, presumed dead, is believed to be at the bottom of the dangerous ice shelf.
Recovery of the body has been delayed because of safety fears.
New Zealand Conservation Minister Tim Groser described it as a "tragedy of almost unimaginable proportions (for the parents) to lose both sons in one tragedy".
Local police said the brothers had crossed safety barriers and touched the glacier, which is believed to be 50 to 60 metres high, to take photos when a section of ice collapsed. Some of the ice blocks in the rubble were the size of large vehicles, according to police.
An estimated 600,000 people, of whom about 30 per cent ignore safety signs and enter danger zones, visit glacier sites in New Zealand every year.
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