Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says her sympathies are with the families of those killed in a New Zealand helicopter crash.
NZ police have confirmed two Australian tourists are among the seven people killed in the crash at a popular tourist site on Fox Glacier.
Ms Bishop has been more cautious, saying she holds "grave concerns" for those involved and has been waiting for more details to emerge as the weather and terrain has made the crash site too difficult to access.
"My sympathies are with the families of the crash victims at this very distressing time," Ms Bishop said in a statement on Saturday night.
"We have spoken to the two (Australian) families concerned."
Worsening weather and treacherous terrain in the South Island have halted NZ police efforts to reach the bodies of the victims.
But they have confirmed the dead include two Australians and four people from the United Kingdom.
The helicopter's pilot was also killed.
The bodies have yet to be formally identified and police are working with embassies to notify the next of kin.
Emergency services were alerted to the crash by a helicopter operator at the West Coast glacier just before 11am on Saturday.
Investigators were unable to reach the site of the wreckage, some 700 metres up the glacier.
Police in a statement said they would resume a recovery operation on Sunday.
Weather conditions were reportedly cloudy and raining at the time of the crash.
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