Unsung Erebus heroes recognised 

Official recognition has finally come for the people who had the gruesome job of recovering bodies from the Erebus air disaster.

The 1979 downing of Air New Zealand's Antarctica sight-seeing flight was a national tragedy and 27 years later an Erebus medal has been presented to the team who recovered the bodies and sent them home to their loved ones.

The worst air disaster in New Zealand history resulted in the loss of 257 lives which led to a personal trial for the people who had to identify the corpses and ensure they found their way home.

Inspector Stuart Leighton says it was a horrible job.

"It was messy, it was sheer hell."

On the ice he said the task was to "locate, tag, photograph and bag".

Back in Auckland a team of pathologists, dentists, police and funeral directors tried to identify the remains - a task grisly even for those accustomed to death.

"When you hear those numbers being quoted you think...that's a lot but to actually see that number it really shakes you to the core," says funeral director Peter Beauchamp.

"We hear about these disasters and we know somebody has to deal with them but you don't often think about the poor old people who are right there at the face having to deal with it."

Eighty percent of the dead were identified and the people who brought closure to families are receiving official recognition themselves.

"It [the Erebus Medal] is long overdue and it is probably one of the most significant factors in actually giving myself personal closure," says Leighton.

Erebus's victims are remembered with a simple cross in Antarctica.