Aircraft Failed To Land As Scheduled In Republic Of Congo

An Australian mining executive, two pilots, and what has been described by Mining Weekly.com as the entire board of the Australian mining company Sundance Resources are reported missing in the Republic of Congo after the plane in which they were flying failed to land as scheduled in Yangadou. There were reportedly 11 people total on the aircraft.

Ken Talbot, described as a "mining tycoon" and his employees had visited the company's iron ore project in Cameroon and Congo, the company said. CNN reports that the flight departed from Yaounde Saturday, but it did not land in Yangadou as was expected.

Air and ground crews have been searching the route of flight since the plane went missing. A spokesman for The Talbot Group said the last communication from the plane was about 30 minutes into the flight, and there was no indication that there was anything wrong at that time.

Also among the missing are Chairman Geoff Wedlock, managing director Don Lewis, company secretary John Carr-Gregg, and non-executive directors John Jones and Craig Oliver. The other names have not been released.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement Monday the Australian government would fully support the search efforts. "All of our diplomatic and consular resources are being dedicated to this," Rudd said. "We will leave literally no stone unturned in our efforts to try and help what is a concerning set of developments for these families." Canadian and U.S. assets are also being used in the search, which is being led by authorities from Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo. Trading of the company's stock has been suspended while the search is ongoing.

FMI: www.sundanceresources.com.au