The body of an Australian man who died alongside his brother while sightseeing at a New Zealand glacier with their parents last week, has been recovered from the ice.

Akshay Miranda, 22, and his 24-year-old brother Ashish, were buried under 100 tonnes of ice at the Fox Glacier on New Zealand's South Island. The men died in front of their parents Ronnie and Winnie Miranda after walking beyond warning signs to get a closer look at the natural wonder.

Ashish’s body was discovered soon after the ice fall, but conditions were deemed too dangerous for searchers to continue looking for his brother.

New Zealand police said that a river exiting the glacier had moved Akshay’s body 10km (6 miles) further downstream, where he was discovered lying flat and with his arms at his sides.

The recovery of Akshay’s body came as a welcome relief to his grieving parents who had been distressed at having to leave New Zealand without his body.

In a cruel twist, it emerged that a Christchurch car rental company had asked the couple to pay for replacing missing car keys that were lost, believed to be buried in Akshay’s pocket. The cost was estimated to be up to £720.

The demand by the car hire company NZRCS caused outrage when it was revealed on Tuesday that the owner Edwin Chan, while expressing his “compassion” for the grieving parents, said that he would not bow to “emotional blackmail”.

Thousands of people in Australia and New Zealand offered to donate money to the Miranda family to pay the fine, but Mr Chan eventually relented and withdrew his demands on Wednesday.

Mr and Mrs Miranda were told that Akshay’s body had been recovered on Thursday just hours after they returned to their home in Melbourne with Ashish’s body.

Mrs Miranda’s sister Clara Fernandes said that the couple had felt distressed leaving New Zealand without both sons.

“When Winnie and Ronnie were leaving New Zealand, they were very, very distressed that they were leaving one child behind and feeling very unsettled,” Ms Fernandes told Australian Associated Press.

“They have taken comfort from the fact that they can be buried together.”

She said that Mrs Miranda was taking the situation extremely hard: “This is an unspeakable and imaginable loss.”

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