ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION<br/> <br />Two award-winning filmmakers working on a documentary with Hollywood director James Cameron have been killed in a helicopter crash at a rural airfield south of Sydney.<br/> <br />American cinematographer Michael deGruy, 60, and Australian TV writer-producer Andrew Wight, 52, died when their helicopter crashed at Nowra, shortly after takeoff from an airstrip on Saturday (February 4), according to National Geographic.<br/> <br />Police did not release the victims' identities immediately. However, National Geographic and Oscar-winning director Cameron confirmed their deaths in a statement released on Sunday (February 5).<br/> <br />" ... the deep-sea community lost two of its finest," the statement said.<br/> <br />Local MP Gareth Ward said the helicopter was enroute to a filming location when it crashed.<br/> <br />"I understand that the helicopter was a Robin R44 helicopter. It had flown from Bankstown to Jaspers Brush. It was en route to Jervis Bay talking part in the filming of a documentary," he said on Saturday.<br/> <br />DeGruy and Wight were long-time colleagues of Cameron. Wight co-produced the feature film "Sanctum 3D" with Cameron after accompanying him on six deep-ocean documentary expeditions.<br/> <br />DeGruy, an Emmy award winner with 30 years of experience in ocean filmmaking, was the director of undersea photography for Cameron's "Last Mysteries of the Titanic".<br/> <br />In a statement Cameron said the deaths were a tremendous loss for the world of underwater exploration, conservation, and filmmaking, adding that the pair were "like family to me".
