The wreck of a plane carrying Malawi’s vice-president has been found with no survivors, President Lazarus Chakwera has said.
President Chakwera, who disclosed this in In a news briefing on Tuesday, said he had been informed by the Malawi Defence Force Commander, that the search and rescue operation has been completed and the plane was found.
TheFact Daily had reported that Saulos Chilima and nine others were flying within the country on Monday morning when their aircraft disappeared from airport radars.
The plane, a military aircraft, was flying in bad weather. Soldiers were searching Chikangawa Forest in an effort to find the plane.
President Chakwera said he was “deeply saddened and sorry” to inform Malawians of the terrible tragedy, adding that the rescue team found the aircraft completely destroyed.
The vice-president and president come from different parties but the two teamed up to form an alliance during the 2020 elections.
Dr Chilima, 51, was on his way to represent the government at the burial of former government minister Ralph Kasambara, who died four days ago.
Former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on the flight, which took off from the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning. It was meant to land at the airport in the northern city of Mzuzu, but was turned back because of poor visibility.
Dr Chilima had been vice-president of Malawi since 2014.
He was widely loved in Malawi, particularly among the youth, according to AFP news agency reports.
However, Dr Chilima was arrested and charged in 2022 on allegations that he accepted money in exchange for awarding government contracts. Last month, the court dropped the charges, giving no reasons for the decision.
Dr Chilima is married with two children.
