Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima died in a plane crash, the president said Tuesday after searchers located the plane’s wreckage.
advertisementMalawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima has been confirmed dead along with nine others after a missing military aircraft was discovered.
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera announced in a live address on Tuesday that the plane was completely destroyed and that all on board had died on impact.
Former First Lady Shanil Zimbiri, ex-wife of former President Vakili Muluzi, was also on board the plane, the President said. There were seven passengers and three military crew members on board the ship.
The aircraft was found wrecked by a search team in a foggy forest. It disappeared during the 45-minute flight from the capital Lilongwe to Mzuju, about 370km north.
Air traffic controllers instructed the plane not to attempt to land at Mzuzu Airport due to bad weather and poor visibility and asked it to return to Lilongwe, Chakwera said in a speech late Monday night. Air traffic control then lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar, he said.
Chakwera expressed gratitude for the help of the United States, Britain, Norway and Israel, which provided expertise to assist in the search.
The group was traveling to Mzuzu to attend the funeral of a former government minister. Chilima had just returned from an official visit to the country on Sunday.
