The bodies of two climbers on Mt Taranaki have been recovered.
Richard Phillips and Peter Kirkwood - engineering geologists from Christchurch-based firm Tonkin + Taylor - were the pair found on the mountain just before 10pm on Tuesday, Newshub has learned.
It's believed the pair fell near the summit.
Weather conditions on Tuesday night and Wednesday hampered efforts to recover their bodies and a team resumed the recovery mission on Thursday morning.
Police confirmed the bodies had been recovered just after 8am on Thursday.
"We'd like to thank all our staff and volunteers involved in the safe recovery of the men. Our thoughts remain with their families at this time."
South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon earlier said the deaths had sent shockwaves through the region.
"It's an absolute tragedy to think that someone's out doing the things they enjoy doing in life and they've had their life taken from them," he told Newshub.
"We're very proud of our Taranaki Maunga and we don't like to see people hurt in any way, shape, or form on it - so this is very tragic."
