Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others have been killed in a plane crash due to bad weather, President Lazarus Chakwera announced on Tuesday.
The plane, a Malawian military aircraft, went missing on Monday morning, prompting a significant search operation. President Chakwera revealed that the wreckage was found in a thick forest in the northern part of the country with no survivors.
The aircraft, which had completed a trip earlier, took off from Lilongwe at 9:17 a.m. and was heading to Mzuzu when it encountered poor visibility and disappeared from radar.
The search, involving nearly 200 soldiers and additional personnel, was hampered by thick fog in Chikangawa Forest. The U.S. Embassy and other nations assisted in the search effort. Mr. Chilima, aged 51, had been expected to run for president in 2025. He was serving his second term as vice president.
The crash also claimed the lives of former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri and three members of the Malawian military. Mr. Chilima is survived by his wife, Mary, and their two children.
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