Satish Jagadeesan pays tribute to his brother Magesh, a climber who died after falling into Mt Ruapehu's crater lake.
The man who fell to his death in Mt Ruapehu's crater lake was an experienced climber who died doing what he loved, his brother says.
Magesh Jagadeesan, a 32-year-old information security engineer for a Wellington-based company, died after falling into Mt Ruapehu's crater lake on Saturday.
His death coincided with the 15th anniversary of his father's death.
His brother, Satish Jagadeesan, spoke to the Herald about how his much-loved brother will be remembered by friends and family.
"He was an experienced climber and has been climbing mountains for more than five years.
Magesh Jagadeesan at Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. Photo / supplied
"What started as a simple hobby turned into a passion for him. He was always someone who liked nature and that's one of the reasons why he was so much in love with New Zealand."
Jagadeesan's body was retrieved from the lake by members of the climbing group he was part of, when emergency services arrived.
Following the death on Saturday, Ruapehu iwi placed a rāhui on the area around Mt Ruapehu.
Jagadeesan was climbing with a group of five when they stopped for a snack below the Dome, facing the small peak called Pyramid where the climber reportedly fell.
Satish said he was a very caring brother, a loving son and an affectionate uncle to his kids.
"He would go to any extent to help his friends and family. I have never seen him get angry at anyone or anything in his life. He always used to handle any situation with a smile," he said.
Born in Chennai in India, Jagadeesan moved to New Zealand in early 2009 to do his masters at the University of Waikato.
After graduating he worked for a couple of companies before joining Datacom in 2011.
Datacom Group CEO Greg Davidson said it was with great sadness to the Datacom family that they tragically lost one of their team members.
"Magesh joined Datacom in Auckland as a graduate systems engineer in 2011, and was known as a dedicated worker and positive influence on everyone around him.
"He built up his skills and experience in cybersecurity and transferred to the Wellington office in 2016 as an information security engineer.
"Magesh was well known for his outdoor pursuits, and this news comes as a shock to our teams across the company.
"We would like to extend our heartfelt sympathies to Magesh's friends and family during this difficult time," Davidson said.
Jagadeesan became a New Zealand citizen last year.
Satish said his family was still in shock.
"He was always destined to do great things but never in our wildest dreams did we think that he would leave us so early.
"The unfortunate coincidence is that it was on September 22 - the day when he died was the same day our father passed away 15 years back. Now we have lost Magesh on the same day," he said.
A funeral will be held for Jagadeesan at Seddon Park Funeral Home in Hamilton tomorrow.
The community and friends were welcome and a small prayer ceremony has been arranged.
