Colleagues devastated at death of two men who were tramping the Tararua Ranges

Wednesday, 23 November 2016

A friend hopes to raise funds for Michael Stepura's family after his 'completely unexpected' death.

The two men who died tramping in the Tararua Ranges earlier in the week have been named by police.

Mykhailo Stepura, known as Michael, from Lower Hutt, and Pavel Pazniak, from Auckland, were both foreign nationals but had been living in New Zealand for some time.

Both men worked for Xero. Stepura, 39, was originally from Ukraine, and 32 year-old Pazniak, known as Paul, was originally from Belarus.

Police were continuing to investigate after autopsies were carried out on Wednesday.

A friend of the Stepura family established a fundraising page on the Givealittle website.

'This was completely unexpected and the family is shocked with this tragic loss,' the site says.

Stepura, described as a 'father of two boys and loved husband,' was a software developer who worked for Xero and lived in Lower Hutt.

'All of us at Xero are deeply saddened by the loss of our teammates, Pavel Pazniak, known to us as Paul, and Mykhalo Stepura, known to us as Michael,' a Xero spokesperson said.

'Our focus is on supporting their families at this difficult time. We are a tight-knit team at Xero and this is a tough time for many of us.

'As well as assisting the families, we are closely supporting our teams.'

Funds raised on Givealittle would be used to assist in paying for the funeral and helping Stepura's family.

'Michael was the main breadwinner for his family, and we are reaching out to the wider community to support his family during this hard time.'

Earlier this week, it was reported that the trampers may have been out in the elements for two nights.

Their bodies were found in the park on Monday.

Search and Rescue Operations manager Murray Johnston said the pair were found close to Alpha Peak.

Earlier this week, Peter Barber, Tararua Tramping Club president, said the recommended group size for a trek of the type the two men took should be four people.

'It's a long way to go for help if there are only two in a group and something happens to one of them.

'It's quite a tragedy really, and a mystery.'