Malawi Vice President, wife die in plane crash after aircraft went missing

Malawai Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others, including his wife have lost their lives in a plane crash which was found after a massive search operation which was launched following its disappearance from radar due to bad weather conditions.

The aircraft departed from Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, and was en route to Mzuzu International Airport but could not land there because of adverse weather.

The air traffic control in Mzuzu advised the pilots to not land and instead instead turn around because of bad weather and poor visibility.

However, the aviation authorities lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar soon after.
Hours later, after the search operations began, the wreckage of the plane was located in the Chikangawa forest, confirming that all ten passengers on board had died.

The Office of the President and Cabinet issued a formal statement confirming the news and details of the accident. 

The plane was carrying Vice President 51-year-old Saulos Chilima, former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri and eight others, including his wife. 

Earlier, the southeastern African nation’s President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera had said he was sparing no resources in the search operation. 

Chilima, who was the country’s vice president since 2020, was aboard a Malawi Defense Force aircraft that left the capital Lilongwe at 09:17 a.m. (0717 GMT). The plane was scheduled to land at Mzuzu Airport at 10:02 a.m.

President Chakwera expressed his heartfelt condolences and declared a National Day of Mourning.
“This is a day of great sorrow for our nation. We mourn the loss of our Vice President, a great leader, and all those who were on board,” he said.