E-Malt.com News article: New Zealand: 20 Helicopters searching for missing Duch brewery’s executive and businessman

20 helicopters scoured rugged terrain near west coast of New Zealan on November 7 for a missing helicopter which was piloted by a millionaire and which carried a Dutch beer company executive, the Post announced on November 7.

Guus Klatte, the Dutch brewer Grolsch International’s export director and the Businessman Michael Erceg disappeared on November 4 while flying from Auckland to the alpine resort of Queenstown on South Island.They were on the first leg of their journey when they disappeared from radar screens.

Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokesman Steve Corbett said the search area was mostly covered by thick bush and it would be extremely difficult to find a downed helicopter. No emergency beacon, normally triggered in a crash, had been picked up

However, he said searchers still held out hope the pair were alive.Netherlands Embassy Counsellor Leo Bouter said they were keeping “in regular contact with the rescue centre” for updates on the search. He said Klatte, 38, was from Amsterdam.

Erceg is one of New Zealand’s richest businessmen, with wealth from liquor interests of more than EUR 333 Million.


08 November, 2005