Malawi Vice President Killed in Plane Crash Along with Nine Others

Malawi Vice President Killed in Plane Crash Along with Nine Others

Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others died in a plane crash, confirmed Colleen Samba, the president's secretary, on Tuesday (June 11).

The flight took off from the capital carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima, former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri, and eight others. However, air traffic control in Mzuzu advised the pilots not to attempt a landing due to poor weather and visibility, instead instructing them to turn around. However, air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar.

A large-scale search operation was launched in the forests of northern Malawi on Monday, June 10.

UTM officials claimed that the search started at 3:00 PM local time (2:00 PM GMT), even though the plane went missing at 10:00 AM.

President Saguera reached out to the governments of several countries, including the United States, England, Norway, and Israel. They all offered support in various ways to help find the plane.

Army commander General Paul Valentino Phiri said that other countries, including Malawi's neighbors, were helping with the search, providing support like helicopters and drones.

After a long search, the missing plane was found in Chikangawa Forest with no survivors. On Tuesday, Colleen Samba, the president's secretary, confirmed the tragic news. The Office of the President and Cabinet also released a statement with details about the accident.

The President's office confirmed that all ten people on board were killed. In a statement, it was reported: "The aircraft carrying Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima was found this morning in Chikangawa Forest. Sadly, everyone on board died in the crash. The President has declared a national day of mourning and ordered all flags to be flown at half-mast from today until the funeral."

Chilima has been the vice president since 2014. Before that, he led the mobile network Airtel Malawi and also worked at Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Carlsberg.

#BREAKING | Malawi Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima confirmed dead in a plane crash pic.twitter.com/KM5kQsGbpm

— WION (@WIONews) June 11, 2024

 

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