Sydney seaplane: UK businessman and family named as victims

The chief executive of catering giant Compass Group has died in a New Year’s Eve seaplane crash near Sydney, alongside his two sons, fiancée and her daughter, his firm has said.

Richard Cousins died after the plane plunged into a river 30 miles (50km) north of Sydney.

Mr Cousins, 58, died alongside Emma Bowden, 48, her 11-year-old daughter Heather, and his sons, William, 25, and Edward, 23, police have said.

The Australian pilot was also killed.

Police in Australia have named the pilot as Gareth Morgan, 44.

All six died after the seaplane – which belonged to a firm running sightseeing tours – came down in the Hawkesbury River, near the suburb of Cowan.

The crash happened at about 15:10 local time (04:10 GMT) on Sunday, New South Wales Police said.

BBC correspondent Phil Mercer said the family were believed to have been returning to Sydney from an exclusive waterfront restaurant in Jerusalem Bay on New Year’s Eve when the plane crashed.

Mr Cousins was chief executive of the Surrey-based, FTSE 100 firm Compass Group – thought to be the largest food service company in the world – since 2006.

He was due to leave his role in March and retire from the group in September.

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