Plane carrying Malawi vice president goes missing; search underway

The flight took off at around 9:17 a.m. from Kamuzu International Airport and was heading to Mzuzu International Airport when aviation authorities warned the plane to turn around due to poor visibility. Authorities quickly lost contact with the plane, which “could not land due to poor visibility caused by bad weather,” Chakwera said in his speech.

The vice-president was going to the funeral of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Raphaël Kasambara, who died on June 7.

“I know this is a heartbreaking situation. I know we are all scared and worried. I too am worried,” added Chakwera. “But I want to assure you that I will spare no available resource in finding this plane, and I hold on to every fiber of hope that we will find survivors.”

The president refuted media reports that the Malawi Defense Force had already ceased search operations and said authorities were able to use signals from telecommunication towers to identify a 10 kilometer radius around The area. where the plane should be.

Chilima, 51 years old, He first took over as vice president in May 2014 after his career in multinational companies such as Coca-Cola and telecommunications company Airtel helped launch him into politics. He joined Chakwera’s campaign in a repeat election in 2020, which led to his re-election as vice president.

He was arrested in November 2022 on corruption charges after being accused of receiving money and gifts related to government-awarded contracts involving two private companies, which he denied. Before the arrests, Chakwera removed Chilima as vice president in light of the accusations.

Malawi – a landlocked country bordering Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique – has a population of around 20 million and has had diplomatic and military relations with the United States for years.

The United States, Britain, Norway and Israel have offered some form of support regarding the missing plane, including “specialized technologies” to help in the search, Chakwera said Monday.

The US embassy in Lilongwe said it was “deeply concerned” by news of the plane’s disappearance and offered to help Malawi in the search, including using a C-13 defense aircraft.

“I ask you to pray for those on board and for their families,” Chakwera said. “But whatever happens, I assure you that God is with us and will help us through this dark time.”