PLANE CARRYING MALAWI'S VP MISSING- GOVT. (PHOTO).

Aircraft carrying Malawi vice president missing, presidency says

An aircraft carrying Malawi's Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and nine others has gone missing, Malawi's presidency said on Monday.

“The Office of the President and Cabinet wishes to inform the general public that the Malawi Defense Force Aircraft that left Lilongie today, Monday 10 June 2024 at 09:17 Hours, carrying the Vice President, the Right Honourable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, and nine others, failed to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport at 10:02."

"All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the Aircraft since it went off the radar have failed thus far," Malawi's Office of the President and Cabinet said in a statement.

Chilima, 51, was aboard a Malawi Defense Force aircraft that left the capital Lilongwe at 0917 local time, the statement said, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing.

“The Commander of the Malawi Defense Force, General Valentino Phiri, has since informed His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera of the incident and the President has since cancelled his scheduled departure for the Bahamas and ordered all regional and national agencies to conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft.

“The public will be updated on any developments on the situation as facts are established.”

• ACCORDING TO ANOTHER SOURCE:

 Plane Carrying Malawi’s VP Missing – Govt

A military aircraft carrying Malawi’s vice president Saulos Chilima has been reported missing after it failed to make a landing Monday morning, the government said.

“All efforts by aviation authorities to make contact with the aircraft since it went off the radar have failed thus far,” the government said in a statement.

The plane, which took off just after 9:00 am local time (0700 GMT), was carrying 51-year-old Chilima and nine others.

President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered regional and national forces to conduct an “immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft”, the statement said.

Chakwera, who was due to travel to the Bahamas for a working visit, has since cancelled his trip.

In 2022, Chilima was stripped of his powers when he was arrested and charged with graft over a bribery scandal involving a British-Malawian businessman.

Last month, a Malawian court dropped the charges after Chilima attended several court appearances.