SAR Personnel Say There Are No Indications Of Survivors

The wreckage of a plane carrying Australian mining executives, including Sundance Resources founder Ken Talbot, has been found in the Republic of Congo near the border with Gabon. Officials say there were no survivors from the accident.

The plane, a Casa C212 twin turboprop, was reportedly carrying six Australian, two British, One American, and two French citizens when it went down. It was being operated as a charter flight by Aero Service, which is described as a "widely used" air charter service in Congo. But Bloomberg news reports that, according to the European Commission website, the company is banned from operating in the EU. The company has a record of three crashes in the past five years, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

CASA C212

The wreckage was discovered about 1500 local time by a helicopter engaged in the SAR operations, and the recovery effort is underway. The Republic of Congo has formed a commission to investigate the accident, according to Transport Minister Isidore Mvouba, but the FDR has not yet been recovered from the crash site. And Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Service that coordinating the investigation between two different governments "will have its own difficulties."

FMI: www.dfat.gov.au