NZ snowboarder killed in German mountains

Authorities have confirmed that Palmerston North man Michael McKelvey has been killed in a snowboarding accident in Germany.

Friends said the 38-year-old died on Tuesday after losing control during a jump and landing heavily, face down, in deep snow in the Allgau Alps, near Oberstdorf, on the Austrian border.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was in close contact with his family here and was offering assistance through the New Zealand embassy in Berlin.

The family did not want to make any comment to the media, she said.

Mr McKelvey, a former Freyberg High School and Awatapu College pupil, had lived in Germany since 2002.

Craig McLay, 38, a long-standing friend of Mr McKelvey, said he could not believe his "buddy" had died.

"He's one of those dudes who you would think you would be sitting with on the front porch at age 65 having a few beers and talking about ... (what) you got up to. This isn't the way it was supposed to be," he told The Dominion Post.

Mr McKelvey worked in bars in Germany at night and skied during the day, he said.

- NZPA