The death of two climbers on Mt Taranaki has left the community in shock as a recovery operation to retrieve their bodies resumes.
Their bodies were found just before 10pm on Tuesday and it's believed the pair fell near the summit.
Weather conditions on Tuesday night and Wednesday hampered efforts to recover their bodies. A team has resumed the recovery mission on Thursday morning.
South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon said the deaths had sent shockwaves through the region.
He said the situation was heartbreaking.
"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."
Police said the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter, Alpine Cliff Rescue, and police search and rescue teams had been redeployed on Thursday morning.
"Our main focus is to safely recover the bodies of the climbers and return them to their families and as such we are not in a position to release their names," a police spokesperson said.
