KEY POINTS:
The body of one man has been recovered from Fox Glacier while a second man, believed to be dead, could not be reached tonight.
Police said the second man could not be recovered as it was too dangerous for rescue staff.
The two were believed to have become trapped under ice at the terminal face of the glacier outside the roped off area around 4.20pm.
St John ambulance spokesman Ian Henderson said in a statement released at 8.30pm his crews had withdrawn from the scene.
Police communications spokesman Inspector Michael Coulter said no further information was available at this time.
Fox Glacier Guiding chief executive Rob Jewell told Radio New Zealand the trapped duo were thought to have gone on the glacier without guides.
The access road to Fox Glacier had been closed.
Department of Conservation (DOC) area manager Jo Macpherson said the glacier valleys were extremely dynamic and the terminal face of the Fox Glacier was very steep at present and subject to random ice collapses.
She said the glacier valley was a safe place for visitors to go to, as long as they took notice of the warning signs and do not go beyond barrier ropes.
In 2007, the Department of Conservation said that almost a third of the 600,000 visitors to the West Coast glaciers ignore warning sings and enter danger zones.
In February that year, 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.
Canterbury technical support manager Don Bogie said at the time DOC knew many people were taking the risk, which indicated its duty of care was not "being adequately discharged".
If the status quo was maintained, there was a continuing high risk of a serious accident that could involve multiple fatalities, he said.
- NZPA
