Ballymena man killed in West Africa aeroplane crash

A man born in Ballymena has been killed after the plane in which he was travelling crashed in West Africa.

James Cassley, who grew up in Quin, County Clare, was one of 11 passengers travelling between Cameroon and Congo.

The Cameroonian information minister said nine or ten bodies had been found in the wreckage.

Several Australian mining executives were on board including Ken Talbot, one of the richest men in Australia.

Mr Cassley who was 30 was travelling on a British passport.

He worked for the European arm of a Canadian investment bank and was in Africa on business.

In an interview with the Irish Independent newspaper his mother, Mona, said he was shortly due to celebrate his third wedding anniversary

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin said it was 'aware of the situation' and was being assisted by Australian and British authorities in the area.

The group set off from the Cameroonian capital Yaounde on Saturday to visit iron ore projects in Yangadou, a remote area in Congo.

The plane the men were travelling on was chartered by the Australian mining company, Sundance Resources.

The area they were visiting includes the Mbalam project which straddles Cameroon and Congo - where Sundance Resources is hoping to extract 35 million tonnes of iron ore a year.