Soldiers are combing the mountainous forests near a northern Malawi city in search of a military plane that went missing Monday, carrying the country’s vice president and a former first lady, President Lazarus Chakwera announced.
Malawi’s Vice President and 9 Others Missing After Aircraft Disappearance – Presidency
The aircraft, with 51-year-old Vice President Saulos Chilima, former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, and eight others on board, departed from Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, at 9:17 a.m. It was expected to arrive at Mzuzu International Airport, approximately 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north, in about 45 minutes.
However, due to poor weather and visibility, air traffic control advised the plane not to land and to turn back, Chakwera stated during a live broadcast on state TV channel MBC.
Shortly after, air traffic control lost contact with the plane, and it vanished from radar, he added.
“I know this is a heartbreaking situation. I know we are all frightened and concerned. I too am concerned,” Chakwera said. “But I want to assure you that I am sparing no available resource to find that plane. And I am holding onto every fiber of hope that we will find survivors.”
Mzuzu, Malawi’s third-largest city and the northern region’s capital, is situated in a hilly, forested area dominated by the Viphya mountain range, known for its extensive pine plantations.
The president pledged that search operations would persist through the night. Authorities, utilizing telecommunications towers, pinpointed the plane’s last known location to a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius within one of the plantations. This area is the focal point of the Malawi Defense Force’s search and rescue efforts, he noted.
“I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is found,” Chakwera emphasized.
Chakwera revealed that the U.S., the U.K., Norway, and Israel had offered assistance in the search and provided “specialized technologies” aimed at expediting the plane’s discovery.
Dzimbiri, the former wife of ex-President Bakili Muluzi, was among the passengers. The group was en route to attend a former government minister’s funeral. Three of those on board were military crew members, Chakwera added.
Chakwera urged Malawians to pray for everyone on board and their families.
Chilima, vice president since 2020, ran in the 2019 Malawian presidential election, finishing third. That election, initially won by incumbent Peter Mutharika, was annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Court due to irregularities. In the subsequent 2020 rerun, Chilima joined Chakwera’s campaign as his running mate, leading to Chakwera’s election as president. This was the first instance in Africa where a court-overturned election resulted in the defeat of a sitting president.
Recently, Chilima faced corruption charges over allegations of accepting money for influencing government contracts. However, the charges were dropped last month, sparking criticism of Chakwera’s administration for not being stringent enough against corruption.
Chilima, who was arrested in late 2022 and has appeared in court multiple times, has denied the allegations, though his trial has yet to begin.
