WELLINGTON (New Zealand) - A TWO-SEATER glider crashed into a mountain in southern New Zealand on Friday, killing one man onboard and seriously injuring a second, police said.

The glider smashed into Mount St. Cuthbert in Omarama on South Island in good weather on Friday afternoon, Sergeant Tony Woodbridge of Dunedin police said.

One man died at the scene and the other, aged 70, was flown 130 kilometres to a hospital in Dunedin with serious injuries, Woodbridge said. Omarama lies 700 kilometres south of the capital, Wellington, which is on North Island.

Police said the pair were from overseas, but withheld their names and countries of origin until the next of kin had been informed. It is not clear which man was flying the aircraft.

Glider pilot Chris Rudge said he was flying over Mount St. Cuthbert near the Omarama gliding range when he saw the wreckage and alerted emergency services.

The crashed glider's cockpit was badly damaged and the tail had broken off, he told Radio New Zealand. He said the glider was owned by a private company.

Investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority were to begin an investigation of the crash on Saturday. -- AP