25 Jun 2017

One dead after light plane crashes in Otago

10:37 pm on 25 June 2017

A body has been removed from the scene of a light plane crash in Central Otago and another man is at Dunedin Hospital with serious injuries.

The microlight was found at Welshman's Creek, northeast of Middlemarch, at about 4pm.

The Rescue Co-ordination Centre's spokesperson, Vince Cholewa said the microlight took off from Taieri at 10.30am and was due to arrive in Omarama at 11.45am but it never did.

The wreckage was spotted by another aircraft in very hilly terrain northeast of Middlemarch.

Mr Cholewa said weather conditions were good, no distress beacon was activated and there was no flight tracking.

A Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson said they would assess whether an investigator needed to travel to the site tomorrow.

Police photographers will go to the scene in the morning.