An aircraft transporting Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others has disappeared, according to BBC Africa’s report on Monday (June 10). “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 aircraft, transporting Vice President Saulos Chilima, departed from the capital city of Lilongwe with a scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport, located approximately 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north. However, the plane failed to arrive at its destination within the expected 45-minute duration.
Aviation authorities subsequently lost contact with the aircraft when it disappeared from radar detection, as stated by Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera’s office. In response, President Chakwera ordered a search operation and cancelled his scheduled trip to the Bahamas.
Malawian President orders search operation
A statement from Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera’s office indicated that aviation authorities lost contact with the plane when it disappeared from radar. In response, President Chakwera instructed a search operation and canceled his planned trip to the Bahamas, as reported by his office. The president had ordered national and local authorities to “conduct an immediate search and rescue operation to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft,” his office said.