Film-makers killed in Australian helicopter crash

Two celebrated film-makers working on a documentary with Oscar-winning director James Cameron and National Geographic have died in a helicopter crash in Australia, the media group said.

They were passionate storytellers who lived by the explorer’s code of humour, empathy, optimism and courage- James Cameron

Andrew Wight, 52, and Mike deGruy, 60, both long-time colleagues of Mr Cameron, were killed when their helicopter crashed at a rural airstrip south of Sydney, National Geographic said a statement on its website.

According to local media reports the pair was in Australia working on a feature-length documentary about Papua New Guinea.

Mr Wight recently co-produced the feature film Sanctum 3D with Avatar and Titanic director Mr Cameron, after accompanying him on six deep-ocean documentary expeditions.

Mr DeGruy, an Emmy award-winning diver and submarine pilot with 30 years of experience in ocean film-making, was director of undersea photography for Mr Cameron’s Last Mysteries of the Titanic.

Mr Cameron said the pair had died “doing exactly what they loved most, heading out to sea on a new and personally challenging expedition”.

“They were passionate storytellers who lived by the explorer’s code of humour, empathy, optimism and courage,” Mr Cameron said in the National Geographic statement.

“Their deaths are a tremendous loss for the world of underwater exploration, conservation and film-making.”

Though unable to confirm their identities, police said two men – a pilot from Melbourne and male passenger from America – died at the scene of a helicopter crash at Jasper’s Brush, south of Nowra, on Saturday afternoon.

Emergency services arrived at the scene to find the helicopter “well alight”, police said.

“Witnesses have told police the helicopter crashed shortly after taking off,” police said.

National Geographic said Mr Wight was the helicopter’s owner and pilot.

A friend told Melbourne’s The Age newspaper that Mr Wight was “James Cameron’s right-hand man for years and knew him intimately”.