The young pilot with "a passion for flying" had just attended his close friend's funeral; now his family, too, is grieving.

Mitch Gameren's sister has paid him an emotional tribute after his helicopter plunged into the Fox Glacier, killing all seven on board.

Gameren, 28, was at the controls of the helicopter that crashed deep into a cold crevasse. He was proudly showing some of New Zealand's most beautiful sights to six tourists, two believed to be from Australia and four from Britain.

The helicopter is stuck in a crevasse between house-sized boulders of ice, nearly 800 metres up the valley.

The wreckage and the bodies remained on the glacier overnight, with ferocious rainstorms preventing recovery crews reaching the scene.

On Sunday, poor weather was hampering efforts to recover the bodies of those on board.

Teams tasked with recovering the bodies were on standby on Sunday morning due to poor weather conditions.

Police search and rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Sean Judd said the situation was being assessed by the hour and was hopeful some progress would be made on Sunday.

The names of the Australians and British on board have not been formally identified, with police working with the High Commissions to notify the tourists' families.

But Gameren's stepfather Kelly Bray got the call at 1pm on Saturday.

Bray said Mitch had attended the funeral on Friday of a fellow helicopter pilot and childhood friend, who died of cancer in Queenstown.

Then on Saturday, the Gameren's family read of the Fox Glacier tragedy online and had "hoped it wasn't Mitch".

Their worst fears were confirmed in a phone call from Fox and Franz Josef Heli-Services at 1pm, and then a visit by police at 2pm.

Gameren was passionate about flying and had racked up almost 3000 flying hours around the world, including for a safari operator in Botswana and more recently as a Medivac pilot in Malaysia.

He had returned from Malaysia only a month ago and resumed his "summer job" based at Franz Josef for Alpine Adventures.

"He loved flying and flew many different aircraft including fixed wing but he also really loved fishing and hunting," said Bray.

Bray said he had not been told how the accident happened: "There's not much point in finding out really. It doesn't matter now. He's gone."

Gameren grew up in Queenstown with his older brother Brett (also a pilot) and younger sister Brooke.

In an emotional tribute on Facebook, Brooke paid tribute to her "best mate" last night.

"Today we lost a champion. I lost my brother and best mate. I feel like I am in a dream and I'm just waiting for you to text me and tell me you're fine," she wrote.

"I am so blessed to have a brother like you.

"You have been such a massive role model in my life ... I miss you so much already.

"There's so much more I could say but I can't think straight right now ... I love you so much big bro. Rest easy."

Four choppers responded to the crash site on Fox Glacier on Saturday and one paramedic and a rescuer were winched down to the scene.

Glacier Country Tourism Group member Chris Alexander said emergency services had tried "their damnedest" to reach the scene.

There was cloud and rain in the area where the crash occurred, MetService said.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is heading an inquiry to establish what caused the crash. In a statement on Saturday night, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said she had spoken to the families of the two Australians believed to be on board.

"My sympathies are with the families of the crash victims at this very distressing time," she said.

"I am advised that the location and weather conditions at the crash site are difficult and full details of the crash are yet to emerge.

"My department will remain in close contact with the New Zealand authorities as they respond to the crash and we will provide support to any affected families."

Stuff