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Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima as well as other nine others have died in a plane crash, the nation’s President said on Tuesday, after searchers located the wreckage of the aircraft in a foggy forest.
The military plane carrying Chilima, 51, and nine others disappeared on Monday, after it failed to land in the northern city of Mzuzu due to bad weather and was told to return to the capital, Lilongwe.
“The search and rescue team have found the aircraft … completely destroyed with no survivors, as all passengers on board were killed on impact,” Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera said addressing the nation.
“Words cannot describe how heartbreaking this is,” he said, describing the accident as a “terrible tragedy.”
Rescuers had been combing a fog-cloaked forest south of Mzuzu on Tuesday, after authorities located the last tower it transmitted before the plane disappeared.
Earlier, army commander General Paul Valentino Phiri said other countries, including Malawi’s neighbours, had been aiding in the search effort, with support including helicopters and drones.
The group departed just after 9:00 am (0700 GMT) from Lilongwe on Monday to attend the funeral of a former cabinet minister some 370 kilometres (230 miles) away in Mzuzu.
Malawi’s former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on board.
“Chilima was a good man, a devoted father and husband, a patriotic citizen who served his country with distinction and a formidable vice president,” Chakwera said.
“I consider it one of the greatest honours of my life to have had him as my deputy and counsellor for the past four years.”
Missing Malawi VP's Aircraft Found with no survivor
A military source in Malawi on Tuesday revealed that the country's researcher have found batches of a plane that was carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima with no signs of survivor.
Photographs shared with AFP by a member of the military rescue team showed army personnel standing on a foggy slope near debris bearing the registration number of the Malawi Army Air Wing Dornier 228-202K aircraft.
Earlier, army commander General Paul Valentino Phiri said other countries, including Malawi’s neighbours, had been aiding in the search effort, with support including helicopters and drones.
