Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima has tragically died in a plane crash along with nine other passengers, President Lazarus Chakwera announced Tuesday.
“The search and rescue operation I ordered to find the missing plane that carried our vice president and nine others has been completed.
The plane has been found. And I am deeply saddened and sorry to inform you that it has turned out to be a terrible tragedy,” Chakwera said.
The aircraft went missing after failing to land at Mzuzu International Airport, about 380 km (240 miles) north of the capital, Lilongwe.
The wreckage was located in the Chikangawa Forest.
“The plane was found completely destroyed,” Chakwera reported, adding, “Words cannot describe how heartbreaking this is.”
Chakwera paid tribute to Chilima, describing him as “a good man, a devoted father and husband, and a patriotic citizen who served his country with distinction.”
Chilima, 51, had just returned to Malawi on June 6 after attending the Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul.
The Malawi Defence Force deployed drones and at least 200 soldiers to search for the plane in the Chikangawa Forest, where its last signals were received.
Rescue operations were hampered by bad weather, according to Force Commander Paul Valentino Phiri.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
