Navy divers have recovered a second body from the wreckage of the plane that crashed into the Tasman Sea last Saturday, near Gannet Island, 30km south west of Raglan. The plane was owned by 2Degrees CEO Eric Hertz and his wife. Waikato District Operations Manager John Kelly confirmed the bodies were Mr and Mrs Hertz during a press conference in Raglanon Sunday afternoon.
“All staff involved in the operation, both professional and Raglan Coastguard volunteers, are privileged to be able to return Eric and Katherine to their whanau and friends,” said Inspector Kelly.
“The weather was very good for us today,” said Lieutenant Commander Trevor Leslie, commanding officer for the operational dive team. “It was a challenging time but we’re very happy that we had a successful outcome.” He added that the recovery went smoothly today.
On Saturday a 2Degrees spokesperson says the Hertz family is extremely grateful for the work of the recovery authorities, the people of Raglan and local iwi.
The dive team have also recovered a “a large part of the wreckage from the seabed”, said Inspector John Kelly.
The wreckage will be sent from Raglan to the CAA in Auckland to help with its investigation into the cause of the crash.
Navy divers recovered the first body on Saturday. The second body was recovered after 3:30pm today. The bodies will be taken to Auckland on Monday 8th April for a post-mortem.