The parents of two Indian brothers killed by a falling ice shelf at Fox Glacier in New Zealand are relieved the body of their second son has been recovered after being washed free from under massive blocks of ice where it had been trapped for a week.
The body of Ashish Miranda, 24, was found shortly after the pair were killed on January 8 when the ice shelf collapsed, crushing them under about 100 tonnes of ice. But the hunt for Akshay's body was abandoned because of unstable ice conditions at the glacier.
Clara Fernandes, the brothers' aunt said parents Ronnie and Winnie Miranda had been "very, very distressed" at having to return to Melbourne before Akshay's body had been located.
"They have taken comfort from the fact that they (the brothers) can be buried together. This is an unspeakable and unimaginable loss," she said.
Ms Fernandes said a planned funeral for Ashish would be postponed until Akshay's body had been flown home.
Constable Tony LeSueur of Hokitika Police told the New Zealand Herald the body of Akshay Miranda, 22, was spotted from a search helicopter after a red cap belonging to Akshay was spotted about 500m downstream by Department of Conservation staff, who had been monitoring ice conditions.
"Akshay was located ... on a gravel island approximately one metre from the water's edge," he said. "He was lying on his back with his arms by his side. The extent of his injuries cannot be established at this time."
Akshay, a Monash University engineering student, and Ashish, an aerospace engineer, ignored warning signs and safety barriers to walk unescorted to the face of Fox Glacier, one of New Zealand's most popular tourist attractions, to take photographs. Their parents witnessed the ice shelf collapse, not realising their only children were caught beneath it.
The Indian-born brothers had paid for the holiday to New Zealand as a 25th wedding anniversary gift to their parents.
On Wednesday, a Christchurch hire car company and a motel owner backed down from demanding the Miranda family pay outstanding bills for an overdue vehicle and unused accommodation after New Zealand Prime Minister John Key described the charges as "crass".