Plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President and nine others disappears after ‘going off the radar’ following take-off from country’s capital
- This story is developing, more to come
A military plane carrying Malawi’s vice-president Saulos Chilima ‘disappeared from radar’ this morning, the country’s government has revealed.
The plane, which was carrying nine other people, failed to land at around 9am local time (7am BST) this morning after taking off from the country’s capital Lilongwe.
Other passengers on the flight, which was due to land at Mzuzu International Airport in the north of the country just after 11am BST, included the vice president’s wife, Mary, and several officials from his party, the United Transformation Movement .
They were traveling to represent the government at the funeral of a former minister, Ralph Kasambara, who died just three days ago.
“All attempts by aviation authorities to contact the aircraft since it disappeared from radar have so far been unsuccessful,” the government said in a statement.
A military plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima (photo) ‘disappeared from radar’ this morning
The country’s President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered regional and national forces to conduct an “immediate search and rescue operation to locate the plane’s whereabouts,” the statement said.
Chakwera, who was due to travel to the Bahamas for a working visit, has now canceled his trip.
In 2022, Chilima was stripped of his powers when he was arrested and charged with bribery over a bribery scandal involving a British-Malawian businessman.
Last month, a court in Malawi dropped the charges after Chilima attended several court hearings.
More to follow.
