Victim's parents angry at 6-day wait to see body

The pilot and all 10 passengers died after the balloon hit power lines and burst into flames. Photo / Geoff Walker

The parents of a young woman killed in the 2012 Carterton hot-air balloon crash say they waited six days to see her body.

Vivienne and Alan Still want changes to the way police and coroners deal with victims after their "horrible" experience when their daughter, Alexis, died.

Alexis, 19, was on board the balloon that struck power lines and caught fire, killing all 11 on the flight.

Vivienne Still told a parliamentary committee that when she arrived at the scene, she could get no information and was "completely in the dark".

Alexis and her boyfriend, Chrisjan Jordan, had jumped to their deaths from the balloon. Ms Still said she asked police and the coroner to see her daughter's body.

"We weren't allowed to ... We didn't even know what state she was in. We weren't told anything. All we wanted to do was to hold or to see, and to be with her, but we had no knowledge of where she was."

Unlike the victims who were burned, Alexis' body was intact and could have been easily identified. But police took items from her bedroom to create a DNA match.

Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall told the committee she planned to identify the delays and see whether they could be fixed. Isaac Davison