Thousands of tourists visiting West Coast glaciers are continuing to ignore warning signs and enter danger zones.
In February, a tourist standing beside an ice cave at the terminal face of the Franz Josef Glacier was injured when the roof collapsed. He had walked past signs warning of the danger of falling ice.
As a result, the Department of Conservation decided to have its management of the glacier valley reviewed by its Canterbury technical support manager, Don Bogie.
The rapidly advancing Franz and Fox glaciers get about 600,000 visitors a year, and surveys show 170,000 go past the last barrier into the danger zone.
Mr Bogie said the department knew many people were taking the risk, which indicated its duty of care was not "being adequately discharged". Unless action was taken, there was a high risk of an accident with multiple fatalities.
