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UK catering boss and family killed in seaplane crash

Richard Cousins was the chief executive of British catering giant Compass
Richard Cousins was the chief executive of British catering giant Compass

A high-profile British catering chief executive and his family were among six people killed in a New Year's Eve seaplane crash in Australia.

The plane went down in the Hawkesbury River near the suburb of Cowan some 50km north of Sydney, as new year's revellers on the banks watched in shock.

The bodies of all of those on board, one pilot and five passengers, have been recovered from the wreckage.

Richard Cousins, chief executive of British catering giant Compass, was killed along with his sons, William and Edward who were both in their 20s.

Mr Cousins' fiancée Emma Bowden and her 11-year-old daughter Heather were also killed in the crash.

"The thoughts of everyone at Compass are with Richard's family and friends, and we extend our deepest sympathies with them," Compass group chairman Paul Walsh said in a statement.

Mr Cousins, who was recently named by Harvard Business Review as one of the world's best-performing CEOs, was due to step down from Compass this year.

Ms Bowden was arts editor at OK! Magazine and her former boss described her as the "Grace Kelly" of their office.

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Lisa Byrne said: "My first impressions of her were that she was lovely - a very kind person.

"She was quite regal, very serene, and very well educated - we used to have great chats.

"I used to call her the Grace Kelly of the office because she had a great aura about her.

"Nothing ever phased her. We had to change pages at the last minute - things were being altered, features being dropped and pages redrawn - and she was always willing to put in the extra hours.

"She was such a wonderful, calming influence in the office, and I never heard her grumble."

New South Wales detective superintendent Mark Hutchings said all passengers on board were British nationals and the pilot was Australian.

The cause of the accident remains unknown with the investigation ongoing.

Witnesses recalled seeing the aircraft, a DHC-2 Beaver Seaplane which was heading to Rose Bay in Sydney Harbour, do a sharp turn before plummeting straight into the water.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, whose father died in a light plane crash, paid his respects to the families of those killed.

"We grieve for those who've lost their lives, and again, our thoughts and prayers are with their families as they come to terms with this terrible loss," he said.

The flight company Sydney Seaplanes has suspended its operations until further notice.