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image captionBritons Peter Kirkwood and Richard Phillips were both experienced climbers
Tributes have been paid to a new father who died while climbing a mountain in New Zealand.
Peter Kirkwood, 33, and fellow Brit Richard Phillips, 46, died while climbing Taranaki Maunga earlier this month.
Dr Kirkwood, a Cambridge graduate, was born and raised in Cardiff before moving abroad.
His family said: He was a loyal and adventurous soul, who will be dearly missed.
Dr Kirkwood was a keen mountaineer, who met his wife-to-be, Kerrie Ann at the University of Cambridge Hillwalking Club, while completing a PhD in geotechnical engineering.
Police have today recovered the bodies of two men who died while climbing Taranaki Maunga on Tuesday night. The formal identification process is still underway to confirm the men's identities, however Police believe them to be missing men Peter Kirkwood .
Richard Phillips and Peter Kirkwood died while trying to summit Taranaki Maunga. (Composite image) He was born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, and the couple, who met at university, spent time working, skiing and climbing in the US, before moving to New Zealand in 2018. Kirkwood had climbed “numerous peaks” in the European Alps, Scottish Highlands, North American Rockies, and New Zealand’s Southern Alps. He was looking forward to introducing his baby daughter, Elaine Sierra, to the mountains the family “loved so much”, Kerrie Ann Kirkwood said. “He was a loyal, considerate and adventurous soul, who will be dearly missed by his friends in the UK, the US, and in Christchurch.
• Source: 1 NEWS
The families of two men who died while climbing Mount Taranaki have paid tribute to their loved ones.
Your playlist will load after this ad Peter Kirkwood,33, and Richard Phillips, 46, perished on the mountain. Source: 1 NEWS
It comes as rescue teams this morning recovered the bodies of Richard Phillips, 46, and Dr Peter Brian Kirkwood, 33, from the mountain.
Police said they were called to reports a climber had fallen near the summit about 10pm on Tuesday, May 4.
Richard Phillips family say he was a man dedicated to his family – his partner Jacqueline and their teenage daughters Freya and Indy.