Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima and 9 others have been confirmed dead in a plane crash.
The plane has been found and all 10 on board are dead. The VP and his wife were on board alongside their aides and crew.
The Malawi Defence Force aircraft “went off the radar” after it left the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning.
The plane was supposed to land at Mzuzu International Airport, in the country’s north, just after 10:00 local time (09:00 BST).
In a speech late on Monday, President Lazarus Chakwera said a search and rescue operation was continuing.
“Soldiers are still on the ground carrying out the search and I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is found,” he said, adding that it was a “heart-breaking situation”.
“I know that we are all frightened and concerned – I too am concerned. But I want to assure you that I am sparing no available resource to find that plane and I am holding onto every fibre of hope that we will find survivors.”
Chakwera earlier cancelled his flight to the Bahamas, which was scheduled for Monday evening.
The wreck of a plane carrying Malawi’s vice-president has been found with no survivors, President Lazarus Chakwera has said.
Saulos Chilima and nine others were flying within the country on Monday morning when their aircraft disappeared from airport radars.
The plane, a military aircraft, was flying in bad weather.
Soldiers had been searching Chikangawa Forest overnight and into the morning in an effort to find the plane.
In a news briefing on Tuesday, President Chakwera said the Malawi Defence Force commander informed him that the search and rescue operation has been completed and the plane was found.
He said the rescue team found the aircraft completely destroyed.
The vice-president and president come from different parties but the two teamed up to form an alliance during the 2020 elections.
Chakwera paid tribute to Dr Chilima, describing him as “a good man”, “devoted father” and “formidable VP”.
“I consider it one of the great honours of my life to have had him as a deputy and as a counsellor,” he added.
Dr Chilima, 51, was on his way to represent the government at the burial of former government minister Ralph Kasambara, who died four days ago.
Former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on the flight, which took off from the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning.
It was meant to land at the airport in the northern city of Mzuzu, but was turned back because of poor visibility.
The military is transporting the remains of Dr Chiima and the other victims to Lilongwe, the president said, adding that funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.
Dr Chilima had been vice-president of Malawi since 2014.
He was widely loved in Malawi, particularly among the youth, AFP news agency reports.
However, Dr Chilima was arrested and charged in 2022 on allegations that he accepted money in exchange for awarding government contracts.
He denied any wrongdoing.
Last month, the court dropped the charges, giving no reasons for the decision.
Dr Chilima is married with two children.
Comments are closed.