There has been praise for the guides who tried to rescue an English tourist who died on the Franz Josef glacier on Saturday.

Anthony Paul Gaging, 52, was killed when he tripped and fell 15 metres into a crevasse, during an ice-climbing tour.

Police in Whataroa say the guides acted quickly to remove the body and administer CPR under difficult circumstances.

Gaging was flown by helicopter to an ambulance. Attempts to revive him at the scene and in the ambulance were unsuccessful.

A director of the Franz Josef Glacier Guiding Company Adrian Januszkiewicz says the company didn't operate on Sunday, to allow staff time to recover.

The company is assisting police with their investigation into Gaging's death.