A plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine other individuals has gone missing after failing to make a scheduled landing on Monday, as reported by the presidential office.
The Malawi Defense Force aircraft, which departed from the capital city Lilongwe at 9:17 a.m. local time (3:17 a.m. ET), was en route to Mzuzu International Airport, approximately 380 kilometers (240 miles) north of Lilongwe. However, it did not arrive at its destination and has subsequently become undetectable by radar, according to official sources.
Malawian Vice President Saulos Chilima addresses supporters during a campaign rally on May 18, 2019. Gianluigi Gurcia/AFP/Getty Images
“All efforts by aviation authorities to establish contact with the aircraft since it went off radar have been unsuccessful,” the presidential statement declared.
In light of the incident, General Valentino Phiri, commander of the Malawi Defense Force, has briefed His Excellency President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera. In response, President Chakwera has canceled his planned trip to the Bahamas and has directed all regional and national agencies to initiate an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the missing aircraft.
