In a tragic incident, Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others were killed in a plane crash, President Lazarus Chakwera announced on Tuesday. The wreckage of the military aircraft was found in a mountainous region in the north of the country after an intensive search that lasted over a day. Unfortunately, there were no survivors.
The plane, carrying Vice President Chilima and a former first lady, went missing on Monday morning during a 45-minute flight from the capital, Lilongwe, to Mzuzu, a city 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north. Despite extensive search efforts involving hundreds of soldiers, police officers, and forest rangers, the plane was only located more than 24 hours later.
President Chakwera, in a live address on state television, detailed the events leading up to the crash. Air traffic controllers had advised the plane to turn back to Lilongwe due to poor weather conditions and low visibility at Mzuzu’s airport. Contact with the aircraft was lost shortly after, and it disappeared from radar.
The military plane, a Dornier 228-type twin propeller aircraft delivered to the Malawian army in 1988, was carrying seven passengers and three military crew members. Authorities reported that around 600 personnel were deployed in the search operation in the Viphya Mountains near Mzuzu.
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Vice President Chilima, aged 51, was on his second term, having previously served from 2014 to 2019 under former President Peter Mutharika. Chilima was also a candidate in the 2019 presidential election, finishing third. The election results were later annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Court due to irregularities.
The nation is now in mourning as it grapples with the loss of its vice president and the other victims of this tragic accident.
