Then in the next few days we heard and read:
Here is some of the scoop on the Congo Crash: Sundance mining executives killed
- John Carr-Gregg
- Don Lewis
- Craig Oliver
- Ken Talbot
- Geoff Wedlock
Difficult search
Cameroon's military is leading the effort to find the plane, which disappeared halfway through its hour-long flight between the Cameroon capital Yaounde and Yangadou in neighbouring Congo. Those involved with the search face a difficult task in combing a large, mountainous area of thick rainforest. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Parliament the flight was meant to only take one hour. He said Cameroon authorities have been searching an area near the border with Congo. "We are of course very seriously concerned about the welfare and wellbeing and safety of the six citizens and one permanent resident," he said. "A number of the board members of Sundance Resources would be well-known to members of this House and this will be a very, very difficult time, a time of great distress for the families, for other management of Sundance Resources and also for employees of the company." Macarthur Coal has issued a statement expressing concern for the company's founder Ken Talbot. Managing director Nicole Hollows says there are grave concerns for all on board. She says the company's thoughts are with the men's families and friends.Remote rainforest
Aviator and businessman Dick Smith said the plane should have been carrying a survival beacon. He said the jungle could cause the signal to be reduced but planes flying overhead should be able to pick it up. Smith said he could not work out why some kind of emergency message was not sent. "The plane they were in, which was a Casa 212, if I remember correctly, it is a European built plane," he said. "Very, very safe and so it is very strange what has happened. I just cannot fathom... why the pilot would not have been able to get an emergency message out if he knew there was going to be a problem." The author of StockAnalysis, Peter Strachan, said flying to the mine site in Congo would have been seen as the best option. "The project itself is about 400 kilometres to the north and east of the Cameroon coastline, quite dense with many endangered species of primates and so forth," he said. "It is a very, very remote part of the world and infrastructure there is not fantastic ... I guess you could drive there but it would take some days."Missing miners broke protocol by flying together
Search continues for missing mining executives. Hopes fading for missing mining executives. Search for lost plane continues in Cameroon. Hunt on for missing mining chiefs Sundance Resources says the lack of suitable aircraft forced the company to break with protocol and allow all of its board members to fly on the same plane, which has disappeared in West Africa. Six mining executives, including billionaire magnate Ken Talbot, were among 11 people on board the plane chartered by the Perth company when it went missing over Cameroon on Saturday. The search for the twin-engine turboprop resumed this afternoon using four aircraft and seven helicopters as well as ground teams. Sundance shares have been placed in a trading halt and the company has suspended its operations in Cameroon and Congo. Sundance has spent tens of millions of dollars on its West African project, which is eventually expected to represent 18 per cent of the GDP of Cameroon. Former Sundance chairman George Jones said the company was close to signing agreements. He said necessity would have led to the board members being on the same plane. "I have seen some close shaves myself that I do not like to think about at the moment," he said. "But it is unusual for an entire board, it actually breaches corporate governance, but it would be obviously related to the fact that they could only get one plane." "A company could not lose that many people and not be affected by it." But Jones said the disappearance of the men will not mean the end of the company. One of the missing men is Sundance CEO Don Lewis. The company's chief financial officer, Peter Canterbury, has been appointed as acting CEO. Canterbury said the company is concentrating its efforts on locating the aircraft and supporting the families of the missing men. "As a matter of priority, its representatives continue to maintain contact with those people and offer support to the families during this deeply distressing time," he said.
Painstaking task to recover crash bodies
No survivors in jungle crash. No survivors as miner's aircraft found in Congo. Plane recorder retrieved but accident unclear. Former Sundance chairman George Jones said he has spoken to the families. Talbot hailed as mining industry 'visionary' Missing miners broke protocol by flying together. Foreign Minister Smith has warned the families of six mining executives killed in an African plane crash that it will take "longer than they would wish" to bring the bodies of their loved ones home.Search teams say there are no survivors in the wreckage of a chartered plane which crashed into thick jungle in the West African nation of Congo. The aircraft was carrying six executives from Perth-based mining company Sundance Resources, including billionaire coal baron Ken Talbot. The wreckage was discovered about 10 kilometres inside the Congolese border after an intense search involving at least three countries including Cameroon, Gabon and Congo. Emergency workers have already recovered nine bodies and they do not believe there are any survivors, Cameroon's information minister Issa Bakary said. "For the moment between nine and 10 corpses have been retrieved," he said. Bakary says the bodies have not yet been identified. Sundance chairman Geoff Wedlock, managing director Don Lewis, company secretary John Carr-Gregg and non-executive directors John Jones and Craig Oliver were the others on board with Talbot. Two Brits, two French and a Yank were also on the plane. Smith said the process of bringing the bodies home will not be easy. "Disaster victim identification is always lengthy, time-consuming and difficult," he said. "Regrettably now we have to brace ourselves for a long and painstaking process. It'll take longer than the families would wish to repatriate the bodies." George Jones, a former chairman of Sundance Resources who has been appointed a strategic adviser, said the company is trying to recover the bodies. "We will be advising the families that it will not be necessary for them to travel," he said. "It is a very difficult terrain, it is a difficult country and I think it is best that we bring their family back to respective places." Jones says counselling is being offered to the families and colleagues of the crash victims. "I have spoken to a couple of them, you know - I only found out around midnight," he said. "I have travelled to a couple of the homes and told them directly and all of the other members have been advised separately. "We have had teams going in all directions. We have obviously had the police involved and we have had some counselling help involved as well."
Black box found
The plane's flight recorder has been recovered but it is too early to say what caused the crash. The search and rescue process was hampered by poor visibility due to fog and difficult access to the mountainous terrain. The twin-engined plane's flight on Saturday from the Cameroon capital Yaounde to Yangadou in neighbouring Congo was meant to take an hour. The last radio contact with the pilots was about 30 minutes into the flight and there was no indication that the plane was in any trouble. There has been speculation the plane may have crashed into a mountain after flying through fog or cloud. Sundance has released a statement saying the crash site has been secured. "Two Sundance contractors and the French military remain ... with the bodies," it said. "Given fading light, the French military and Sundance personnel have relocated to the Avima mining camp, 10 kilometres away, where they will remain overnight. "The company will recommence the recovery operation at first light on Tuesday, 22 June 2010. Given the remoteness of the crash site, mining contractors located in the vicinity will commence clearing access tracks to the accident site." Those on board had been due to visit a Congo iron ore project which is owned by Sundance. Sundance Resources asked the Stock Exchange to suspend its shares yesterday and investment bank Renaissance Capital earlier downgraded the company from buy to hold. "When Sundance begins to trade again there could be a significant markdown in value to reflect the uncertainty of the current situation," the bank said in a research note.Tributes to mining chiefs
Michael Roche, the chief executive of the Queensland Resources Council on which Talbot served from 2001 to 2007, has paid tribute to his former colleague.
He says Talbot will be remembered as a generous and driven man.
"It is the news we all feared unfortunately," he said.
"This is a great tragedy for a loving husband, father, as well as the public persona, the entrepreneur, the industry visionary."
The father of one of the other executives killed in the crash, John Carr-Gregg senior, says his son enjoyed the adventure of travelling to remote sites with his job, but his death is devastating.
"You can imagine it is sad but in a way it is certain relief that the waiting is over," he said.
"He was a wonderful guy and that is about it."
John Carr-Greg junior is survived by his wife and two children.
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