Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima dies in plane crash
Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, along with nine others, have lost their lives in a plane crash on Tuesday. The aircraft carrying the Vice President and former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri went missing the previous day. After an extensive search operation, the wreckage was discovered in Chikangawa Forest with no survivors.
Details of flight, search operation
The plane, departing from Lilongwe, was en route to Mzuzu for a 45-minute flight. However, due to poor weather conditions and low visibility, air traffic control in Mzuzu advised the pilots to return to Lilongwe. Shortly after this communication, contact with the aircraft was lost and it disappeared from radar. The last known position of the plane was tracked using telecommunications towers within a 10-kilometer radius in one of the plantations in the Viphya Mountains.
President Chakwera's address
In a live television address, President Chakwera confirmed that around 600 personnel were involved in the search operation near Mzuzu. He stated, "I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is found." Expressing hope for survivors, he added, "And I am holding onto every fiber of hope that we will find survivors." The United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Israel offered assistance by providing specialized technologies for the search operation.
Vice President Chilima's career and controversies
Chilima had been serving as vice president since 2020. Before entering politics, he led the mobile network Airtel Malawi and held positions at Unilever, Coca Cola, and Carlsberg. Despite facing corruption charges over allegations of influencing the awarding of government contracts, these charges were dropped last month.
