Malawi Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and nine others on board an aircraft that went missing on Monday were killed in a plane crash. President Lazarus Chakwera confirmed Chilima’s death on Tuesday.
It is assumed that poor visibility led to the crash. The military aircraft had left Lilongwe at 09:17 am and was scheduled to land at Mzuzu airport at 10:02 am. Reportedly, due to unfavourable weather conditions, the aircraft was asked to return to the capital but went off the radar.
“I’m deeply saddened, I’m sorry to inform you all that it has turn out to be a terrible tragedy. The search and rescue team has found the aircraft near a hill… they have found it completely destroyed with no survivors,” said Chakwera.
While addressing the nation, Chakwera also said that the crash occurred in a mountainous part of the Chikangawa Forest.
Chilima was a potential presidential candidate in the upcoming elections in the country next year. He was arrested in 2022 over graft allegations, however, the charges were dropped after the case was withdrawn by the concerned party.
