SYDNEY: An Australian mining company which lost its entire board in a plane crash in the Congo said Saturday all the bodies had been recovered and transported to Brazzaville for formal identification.

All 11 people on board the chartered twin turboprop were killed when it smashed into dense jungle last weekend 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the small mining town of Yangadou, near the border with Gabon.

Sundance Resources said all the bodies had now been retrieved from the crash site and were flown to Brazzaville with the help of French and Congolese military aircraft.

"The Congolese prime minister, seven senior Congolese Ministers, the Australian High Commissioner and representatives of Sundance were on hand to pay their respects when the bodies arrived in Brazzaville," the miner said in a statement Saturday.

"They are being held at a secure facility where the formal identification process will commence."

Sundance said it was working closely with Australian and Congolese authorities "to ensure an appropriate and dignified process is followed" in repatriating the bodies "in a timely manner."

"Upon the completion of all necessary procedures in Brazzaville, including formal identification, a specialist repatriation team will continue to work toward repatriation," the company said.

Mining tycoon Ken Talbot was among six Australians, two Britons, two French and one US national who died when the CASA C-212 Aviocar aircraft crashed.

The wreckage was found two days later following a search involving French military aircraft and officials from Congo and Cameroon.

Cameroon Friday indicated the investigation would be handled by Congolese authorities, as the French military indicated it was ending its mission.
 
BDST: 0925 HRS , June 26, 2010
SIS