BLANTYRE, MALAWI: The airplane carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima may have crashed in dense forest, but it has not yet been found, the military said on Tuesday.
Top military official Paul Valentino Phiri told reporters that search and rescue operations had been hampered by foggy weather around the Chikangawa Forest which was affecting visibility.
That’s one of the drones being used in the search and rescue team for VP Pres. Saulos Chilima. 2 teams with 2 drones are around Bombo àrea for the search being aided by drones from the Malawi University of Science and Technology. pic.twitter.com/Dh2uIJ2WLN
— NationOnline (@NationOnlineMw) June 11, 2024
Chilima, 51, was aboard a military aircraft with nine others that left Lilongwe, the capital, at 09:17 a.m. (0717 GMT) on Monday.
The plane had been scheduled to land at Mzuzu airport at 10:02 a.m. but was unable to land due to poor visibility and was ordered to return to the capital, President Lazarus Chakwera said in a televised address to the nation on Monday.
Aviation authorities had failed to make contact with the aircraft since it went off the radar.
Malawi’s information minister said the country had asked Angola’s space agency for help finding the plane.
BREAKING: The US offers military aircraft to help in search and rescue of plane carrying Malawi’s vice president. It has been 24 hours since the plane carrying Saulos Chilima & 9 others disappeared from radar.
President Lazarus Chakwera says he still hopes to find survivors pic.twitter.com/q9KlmAK86t
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) June 11, 2024
Chilima, seen as a potential candidate in next year’s presidential election, was arrested in 2022 over graft allegations.
However, a Malawi court dropped the charges against him last month after the director of public prosecutions filed a notice for the case to be discontinued. Chilima has denied wrongdoing.
(REUTERS)
