Outpouring for Erebus victims

Memorial services were held in Antarctica, France and New Zealand at the weekend to commemorate two Air New Zealand tragedies separated by 29 years.

Services were conducted in Auckland and Christchurch to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Mt Erebus disaster in Antarctica and the loss a year ago of an aircraft off the south of France.

The Erebus tragedy, in which all 257 people on board a DC10 sightseeing flight from Auckland perished, was also marked at Scott Base by about 70 people, including six who lost relatives in the crash.

A service conducted by the the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Rev Peter Beck, inside the base was followed by a ceremony at the base's flagpole at 12.50pm yesterday (local time) – the moment Flight TE901 slammed into the mountain's foothills.

Scott Base co-ordinator Yvonne Costar said it was a poignant ceremony with silence and a wreath – taken from the crash site and laid by the flagpole at the base.

A helicopter carrying the six family members had been prevented by high winds from landing at the site, but if the weather improves, the wreath and a koru-shaped capsule containing messages from families, will be placed under the cross at the crash site today.

"Peter Beck handed the sculpture, wreath and prayer over to us just in case they don't get to the crash site on Monday so we can take them there before the end of the season," Costar said.

Yesterday, the base was engulfed in fog, the mercury was at minus 5 degrees Celsius, "and it was blowing 15-20 knots, so it was pretty chilly", she said.

Scott Base programme support supervisor Simon Trotter said family of victims visited Scott's Hut at Cape Evans and Shackleton's Hut at Cape Royds.

Earlier yesterday, a ceremony was held in France to commemorate the first anniversary of the crash of an Air NZ Airbus.

The A320, which had been leased to German company XL Airways, was undergoing trials before being handed back to Air NZ.

During the flight it plunged into the sea, claiming the lives of the five New Zealanders and two Germans on board.

About 20 relatives of the New Zealanders travelled to France for the commemoration.

Family and colleagues of the men and Perpignan officials attended the unveiling of a greenstone plaque on the seawall at Canet-en-Rousillon.

They also went by boat to the accident site, where wreaths were laid on the water for each of the seven men. At the exact time of the crash the boat's horn sounded seven times.

At the Auckland service, held in a courtyard in the company headquarters, chief executive Rob Fyfe again praised the French coastguard, police and others.

"Air NZ will forever be indebted to those who faced extreme weather and sea conditions as they fought their way to the site immediately following the impact and for the subsequent efforts to recover our men and to search for clues as to what caused the accident," he said.

In reference to Erebus, Fyfe repeated his apology of last month to those who had lost family but not received the support and compassion they should have done from the company since. "The airline made mistakes and undoubtedly let down people affected by the tragedy," he said.

"That weighs heavily on me as the current chief executive."

Dame Malvina Major sang at the Christchurch memorial service, attended by about 300 people at the airport, where Cabinet minister Gerry Brownlee gave the reading.

- With NZPA

- © Fairfax NZ News