Marjorie Cook

Tributes, tears and laughter flowed at the funeral for Haast helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton (31) at Wanaka yesterday afternoon.

When Johan Van Duyse was a schoolboy in Belgium in the 1960s he and his classmates were taught their brave King Albert I was the only soldier who stood up to the invading German army during World War I.

Seven days ago, experienced Haast helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton (31) went missing on a routine flight between Haast and Wanaka Airport.

A crashed Mainfreight truck and trailer unit blocked State Highway 8 at the Lindis Pass for most of yesterday while 20 firefighters mopped up a hazardous chemical spill, and other services worked to right the vehicle in wintry conditions.

A Royal New Zealand Navy and New Zealand Police search for missing Haast helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton and his Robinson 22 helicopter may take several days to achieve a result.

Haast is numbed by the news one of their favourite sons may no longer grace residents' lives and lounges with his cheeky smile and cheerful personality.

Navy and police divers were on Lake Wanaka at 4am today to begin searching for missing helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton and his Robinson 22 helicopter, believed to be about 70m-100m under water in Lake Wanaka since an accident on Saturday night.

While searchers continued to look for missing pilot Morgan Saxton yesterday, Civil Aviation Authority investigators began the painstaking task of trying to determine why Mr Saxton's Robinson 22 helicopter crashed into Lake Wanaka on Saturday evening.

The search for missing Haast helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton has been suspended while search crews await the arrival of specialist diving teams this evening.

The Wanaka flying community is in shock at the disappearance of high-profile Haast helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton, describing it as a "huge blow'.

Haast Search and Rescue co-ordinator and fisherman Kerry Eggeling said last night the community was numbed and shocked over the Morgan Saxton accident, and it seemed the whole town had closed down.

Runner Allison Roe helped inject a healthy dose of enthusiasm and cash into the Upper Clutha Lions' bid to buy the district's first fetal heart monitor on Thursday.

Wanaka reporter Marjorie Cook talks to the Cotter family about the camp on the shores of Lake Hawea that Dick and Margie built and are now ready to pass on to new custodians.

Wanaka triathlete John Mezger did his best to overcome adversity at the XTerra world championship offroad triathlon in Hawaii on Monday, after battling his broken bike for more than 25km.

John Weatherall has been bringing power to the people of Otago for 50 years through rain, snow and gale.

Wanaka's Land Search and Rescue chairman John Taylor is reminding climbers and trampers to be clear about their "panic date" in intentions forms kept at the Department of Conservation office.